Drift
by itsapaigeturner
Summary: Friends with benefits. No strings attached. Casual. Meaningless. A secret. All descriptions of the undefined and confusing relationship between Seth and Paige. But, what happens when they begin to realize that it's not what they really want anymore?
1. Chapter 1

**New story, yeah! And, this one doesn't have an OC, so you'll most likely recognize every character mentioned. Let me know your thoughts, okay?**

**This came to me after I spent last night watching "_No Strings Attached_" and my inspiration blossomed. Ew, blossomed is a weird word. Anyways, I decided to start this one while The Return is on a hiatus, and I'm still pretty actively updating No Escape for the Broken, so check those out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story - unless noted - as all persons mentioned belong to Vince McMahon/WWE. **

**Enjoy! :) **

* * *

She felt as his lips traveled up and down her neck, tracing the outline of a fresh bruise she received from one of Tamina's nasty clotheslines. He smelt of mint and liquor, and even with the fact that she wasn't one to drink, she engulfed the smell.

This wasn't the first time Paige and Seth had sex, and they knew for certain that it wouldn't be the last. They weren't close friends per say, but they weren't strangers either. They'd met almost two years prior when they were both signed to NXT, but that was all in the past. Not a single word was spoken besides that casual greetings as they passed each other in the halls. But, looking at them now, wrapped and indulged in each other's company, you never would have guessed that they were once only co-workers.

Casually, they'd gotten drunk whilst in Europe, the only place it was legal for Paige to drink at the time, and ended up in Seth's hotel room with the evidence of their night all over the floor. But, the next morning, before she could make the infamous _Walk of Shame_, they ended up talking for two hours about random and irrelevant things before somehow concluding that it all meant nothing, and it wouldn't happen again.

That was, until a few weeks later when Seth lost the NXT Championship and needed comforting. One thing led to another, and within an hour or so, he was calling Paige's cellphone and asking her to come and hang out. Hanging out, being the last thing they do when their around each other.

After that night, they agreed that they would be "Friends with Benefits." No strings attached, just emotionless, casual sex. Plus, it all had to be done in secret. They both knew that if anyone found out about their situation, the news would be everywhere. Not to mention how differently the fans would look at them for their actions.

So, they continued lying to their friends about their whereabouts, sneaking behind their backs and running into each other's arms when times got tough. They continued having meaningless, emotionless, casual sex.

But, right then, as Seth and Paige were moving along together, the emotions were running high.

"No strings attached" meant nothing in that moment.

* * *

Rolling over, Paige was, yet again, disappointed to find that Seth had already dismissed himself and headed out. It was normal for one of them to leave before the other was awake, but it still felt wrong to wake up alone after a night like they'd had.

She sat up and looked around to double check that he was actually gone. "Yup," she commented, noting that his wallet and jacket were gone. That was the thing about their hook-ups, if his wallet or jacket was still there, he hadn't left. But, if they were gone, so was he.

It wasn't the idea of their relationship, if you could call it that, that kept her questioning her own morals. If anything, it was the feelings she got when she went to bed in his arms, and woke up cold and alone.

Paige turned and stood up out of bed, pulling her hair up with the band that was wrapped around her wrist. The British Diva pushed her blinds aside and looked down into the parking lot. She knew that she needed to be out and downstairs before eight, because that was when she and the other divas were going to head out for breakfast.

It was tradition for them to grab food together, but it wasn't the kind of tradition that you always look forward to. Especially when you've spent the night doing something with a certain someone that nobody else is supposed to know about.

And, she's done a good job of hiding it from everyone at work. So has he; nobody even suspected that they had anything going on. And if it were up to them, it would stay that way.

The brunette spent a few minutes packing her bags and making herself look halfway decent, just in case someone with a camera were to spot her. After a while, a small knock on the front door sounded and she went to answer it.

"Are you ready?" Emma asked, looking inside to see that Paige's bags were already packed.

Nodding, Paige grabbed a jacket and threw it on. "You're right on time, actually. Just finished packing everything up."

"Well, you're going to need to hurry and throw it all in the van downstairs. Alicia is driving." The Australian Diva emphasized Alicia's name. It wasn't because the woman was a _bad _driver, but she was the feistiest. She had more road rage than all the girls combined.

"Understood," Paige said flatly before hurrying over to the bed where she threw her packed bags. As she picked them all up, she noticed a small piece of paper folded and placed on the nightstand. Checking over her shoulder, she made sure that Emma was distracted by her phone before picking up the note.

_Paige,_

_Sorry for leaving so fast. I got a call from Dean and he wanted me to go and run through some moves for out match on Monday. Hope I didn't scare you..._

_Seth_

She smiled to herself as she re-read the note three times before Emma started snapping. Stuffing the note into her jacket pocket, she grabbed her things and the two new Divas headed down to the parking lot for the long day ahead.

* * *

"Where were you last night, man?" Dean asked as he stretched out his legs.

Seth shrugged. "I had to call it a night pretty early on," he lied.

"But, you weren't in your room," he noted.

"What's with the interrogation, man?" Seth stood up and climbed up into the ring and began to do a few run-throughs against the ropes.

Dean followed steadily behind, but opted to stand still against the man who continued to run against the ropes. "I just asked you a question, thinking I'd get an honest answer. But, instead you pulled a lie out of your ass."

He wasn't sure how he should answer this. Dean wasn't the kind of guy to run around and gossip with the people at work, so he knew that the secret between him and Paige would be safe no matter what his decision was. But he kept thinking about Paige from the night before. How her eyes lit up when he got to her room, or how she seemed to smile brighter when he promised that he would call her and set up for another night. He knew that even if the secret was safe with Dean, their 'relationship' could end just by him mentioning it.

"Well?" Dean insisted.

Seth stopped running and was pushing his hair out of his face. "I already told you. I went back to my room early."

"I knocked on the door, you didn't answer."

"I was sleeping," he lied again, "okay?"

It took him a second, but he nodded. "Okay."

"So, we're good?"

Dean laughed and shook his head. "We're good. But, when I find out what you were really doing, I'm going to hold it against you."

Letting himself laugh at the threat, Seth was really concerned on the inside. Although he would never admit it, he truly did want more than just what he had with Paige, and if anyone found out about any of it, he wouldn't get that.

* * *

Looking down at her Divas Championship, Paige rested up against the cold, brick wall. She'd been sitting in the empty Divas locker room for almost an hour, her match already over, and all the other Divas wandering around with their friends and boyfriends.

She enjoyed the peace and quiet that the emptiness provided her. It allowed her to relax after all the screaming and cheering of the rowdy crowds; she loved them regardless.

However, the silence caught up with her, and she eventually closed her eyes and dozed off before being thrown back into reality by the slamming of the door in front of her.

"Jesus Christ," Paige muttered and she sat straight up, "you scared me."

Seth smirked and locked the door on his way in. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I was thinking that we could pass the time," he trailed off.

"Twice in one day?"

"Really, it's only once. We technically had sex last night, if you're counting the time right."

She rolled her eyes and placed her title down. "I got your note," she muttered.

"Good," he said as he walked towards her, "I was hoping you would before we all checked out."

Standing up, Paige walked towards the other side of the room, trying not to smile at the sight of Seth following her. "How was your workout with Dean?"

"Good," he said again, moving closer and closer to her until they were a foot away from each other.

She had her back completely against the wall and was breathing in the air that they were sharing, being that close to each other. "And, how is Dean?" she asked, this time in almost a whisper, due to the small proximity between them.

He paused and pressed his lips against hers, feeling the lips ring that she had on the corner of her mouth. "Good," he whispered once he pulled away.

Not taking a second to think about it, they were captured in another kiss, this one more heated and passionate. They eventually found their way to one of the benches where one of the Divas' stuff was, but that didn't stop them from sliding it all off. Within a few minutes, they were lying there, wrapped in each other's arms again, trying not to fall of the unsteady bench.

"I better get going," he groaned as he stood up and began to put back on his ring attire, protective vest and all.

Paige nodded and sat up, raking a hand through her hair. "Good luck," she said, returning to her casual tone of voice.

Nodding, Seth smiled at her. "You had a pretty good match tonight."

"Thanks," she smiled, "I've been practicing."

"I can tell."

The brunette sat in silence as the man in front of her got dressed and combed through his hair with his fingers. She would never admit it, but she was mesmerized by the sight. She'd never gotten close enough to one of the Shield members until then, and just being in the same area as one of them was enough to send chills down her spine.

Just the fact that it was Seth was enough to send her spiraling out of control.

"I'll call you," he promised.

Paige nodded and grabbed her clothes, putting them on. "Good," she said, repeating the word that Seth had teased her with many times before.

He caught onto her teasing and smiled before walking out and leaving her, stranded once again. But, she was used to it. The only thing she wasn't used to was explaining how all of the other Divas' stuff got thrown around during their break.

But, she'd figure it out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments on the first chapter. You all motivated me to write and finish the second chapter! You're all absolutely the best, and I'm so thankful for you guys!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_Bitches. Bitches everywhere._

Paige rolled her eyes as the cast of Total Divas giggled and skipped around in their glory. She respected a handful of them for what they were capable of doing in the ring, along with the milestones they've had within the company, but besides all that she couldn't stand them.

Especially Summer Rae.

In the wise words of the British Diva, Summer was a "whore who can't keep her mouth shut, let alone her legs." Perhaps she was basing her opinions off of a reality show, but how else is she supposed to judge someone when the only thing she sees is her attitude towards others?

Then again, who is she to judge in the first place?

She's the one wrapped around a man who is using her for sex. She's the one waking up in the morning with a knot in her stomach because the one person she wants to be with is never there.

But, that's the price she has to pay for happiness. Even if the happiness she desires lasts momentarily and doesn't seem to come back very often.

"Paige," a voice called out from behind the British Diva.

Turning her head, she saw the other British Diva on the roster, Layla El. "Layla," she said with a bright, beaming smile.

"I've missed you," the older woman said as she bent over and hugged the newest addition to the roster. "I feel like the last time I saw you was when you were like, two feet tall."

Paige chuckled. "You saw me a few months ago. I haven't really grown," she trailed off.

"It may seem like that to _you_. But, you're the freaking Divas Champion! If that doesn't prove that you've grown than I don't know what will."

Smiling, she felt her lip piercing tug at her bottom lip, reminding her of the previous night. She could still taste his lips pressed against hers, pushing the small ring into her skin, but she didn't mind. Considering it was him, she'd probably do a lot more than just feel the pressure of a lip ring against her mouth.

"Well," Paige began, "thank you. That means a lot."

"It should," she teased.

Rolling her eyes in a playful manner, Paige raked a hand through her hair. Just as she was about to say something more, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Politely excusing herself, she pulled it out to see Seth's name, bolded on the screen.

"Hello," she greeted in a whisper as she walked away into the corner of the room.

"Are you busy tonight?"

Holding back a smile, the brunette raised her eyebrows. "Depends."

"Come on," he groaned, "you know how hard things get." He paused and waited for a response, and when he didn't get one he continued. "I just thought that we could have a little fun...again."

Paige held off a sigh as she listened carefully. She did want to see him again, but she also wanted to keep her reputation clean. "You know, keeping this secret is harder to do when all we do is hang out."

"We won't be _hanging _out," he assured, "we'll be _making _out. And then we'll do a few other stuff."

Paige looked over at Layla, who had already begun talking to Emma, about something she wasn't sure of. Suddenly, she felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her. She wasn't normally embarrassed by the secrets, but ever since the other night, she had a feeling that everybody knew.

Which was absolutely false.

"What time were you thinking?" she asked, still a little upset.

He could hear the sadness in her voice, and it caused him to stop before he continued. "Are you okay?" After the nights they'd spent together, and the mornings after talking, he knew a thing or two about the woman he was sleeping with. He knew the changes in her voice that sent chills up and down his spine, causing him unimaginable distress. So, when he heard her sound the slightest bit upset, he just knew that something was wrong.

"I'm fine," she lied, "why?"

"You sound...different," he managed to say. "You're sure that you're fine?"

Placing a hand on the phone, she sighed. "100 percent sure. Now, what time are we meeting up?"

It took him a second to accept her claims, but he nodded. "My room, after the show. Is that good?"

Smiling, she looked down at her feet. "Perfect."

* * *

His room. After the show.

She knew the rules of the game, clearly.

No tardiness. No passion. No telling.

Short, sort of sweet, and to the point. Just the way things should be.

It was thirty minutes after the ending of the show, and she was late to his room. She knew that he'd be mad, but she also knew that he wouldn't hold it against her. He was just too impatient to get angry.

Of course, as her luck would pursue, she'd left her personal belongings back at the arena, and had to take a cab from the hotel all the way back. The only good thing that had happened since her match was that she was able to shower, something that she usually had to wait to do until she was in the privacy of her room. So, she smelt clean, even if she didn't feel it.

Normally, they never joked around. She never wore anything 'skimpy' or 'sexy' like lingerie, mainly because she knew that it sort of went against the 'No passion' rule. But, for some reason, she'd managed to stop by a store earlier, before the show, and pick up something along the border lines of lingerie, and she wasn't the slightest bit concerned for his reaction.

Again, he was too impatient.

Paige was practically running down the hallway to make it to his room, and when she did, she barely got a full knock on the door before it was ripped open and she could see his wonderful self.

"You're late," Seth said flatly.

She nodded, throwing her bag into the room and on the floor. "You'll forgive me."

Before he had the chance to argue, she leaped into his arms, kicking the door closed behind her. Feeling his lips again made her heart rise and fall faster, making her feel more and more alive.

They'd spent probably five or so minutes like that, just kissing deeply. She thought to herself how things normally went faster, but she didn't question it. _Longer is better_, she thought. _That's all that matters._

After some time, she remembered what she'd packed in her back. Pulling away, she released her grip around his neck and allowed for her arms to lightly drape around his shoulders.

Tilting his head, he was surprised at how calm he was. Surprised at the fact that he hadn't already picked her up and tossed her on the bed so he could have his way with her, like normal. If anything, he was actually enjoying the pause. Enjoying the silence.

"I have something," she whispered.

"What?" he asked, uncertain of what he'd heard over the pounding of his eardrums.

She caught her breath and chuckled. "I said, I brought something. In my bag."

"Oh," he said and then smirked, "what is it?"

Raising one eyebrow, the brunette shook her head and removed her arms from his shoulders. "You'll have to wait and find out," she teased him before walking toward her bag and picking it up, taking it with her into the bathroom.

He watched as she left, and sighed once she was gone. He'd never felt the tension that was in his shoulder until then. It felt like he had lost something important to him, even though he knew that he hadn't. Paige was just a friend, if it was okay to call her that anymore. Plus, she was just in the other room, not on the other side of the country.

He worked on steadying his breaths, trying not to seem to eager to see her. Thoughts of their previous encounters crept their way into his mind until he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled his shirt off and threw it on the ground, and was on his way to getting off his belt when he heard a light knock on the front door.

Grunting, he pulled his belt back and tightened it. He walked over to the door quickly, hoping that Paige could hear him so that she would stay inside the bathroom until he cleared the room.

But, she didn't hear the knock.

Taking a deep breath, he twisted the door knob and opened the door, seeing that it was Dean.

Just who he _didn't _want to see.

"Dean," he said quietly, "what are you doing here?"

Dean smiled and walked past his friend, right into his room. "You left so fast after the show," he said, looking around at the dark room, "I thought I'd stop by and check in."

Nodding, Seth walked towards him, grabbing his shoulder. "Well, you've seen that everything is fine, so you can leave."

"Wait a second," he demanded, pulling himself away.

"Dude, everything is fine. Thanks for checking in, now can I be left alone?" Seth reached out and tried to grab his shoulder, but the man dodged his hand.

"What are you trying to hide from me? It's not like I haven't seen a hooker before," he suggested.

"Hooker?" he questioned in a quiet, astonished mumble.

Dean shook his head. "When will you learn to share the bait, man? You know how much I love those women."

Seth couldn't believe the man's stubborn attitude. "Dean, I can promise you that I don't have a hooker in here," he said, grabbing his shoulder again. "But, I'd appreciate it if you left."

"What's the rush," Dean complained, "the party hasn't even started! If you don't have a hooker, then you at least have to come with me. A few of the other guys and I are going to hit the town, and it wouldn't be the same without Rollins."

His mind flashed back to the woman in his bathroom, and he immediately started panicking. "Look, I'm fine, really. But I'd really like it if you'd leave, okay?"

"Come on, man! You can't sit around on your lazy ass forever."

"Seriously," Seth begged. He was growing more and more impatient by the second, wishing that he'd never opened the door in the first place. "I'll call you later, okay?"

After a moment of processing the decline, Dean sighed and looked down. "Fine," he accepted. "But, you'll be missing out on a great night."

Seth nodded. "I bet I will," he lied.

"You'll call?"

"Of course," he said casually as he dragged him toward the door. Sometimes he felt like even though he was sleeping with Paige, he was dating Dean. He could be so needy.

"Alright," Dean mumbled. He was just about to exit the room when he heard a toilet flushing in the background, causing him to turn around. "You said there wasn't a hooker in here."

Shaking his head, Seth chased after his friend as he ran toward the bathroom where the noise had come from. "Dean, there isn't a hooker!"

Dean reached out and attempted to open the door, but Paige beat him to it.

"Eager much?" she asked after hearing him run to the door, without opening her eyes to see who was actually running.

"Paige?" Dean asked, in shock at the wardrobe of the brunette in front of him.

And, there she went, breaking the third rule and final rule.

No telling.


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_Flashback: October of 2012_

* * *

_"Come on, Paige! You aren't going to get arrested, this isn't America for God's sake."_

_The brunette rolled her eyes at the other divas who sat around her. Call it her initiation, whatever. It wasn't like she'd never had a drink before, after all she did grow up in Europe. However, she wasn't much of a drinker anyway. _

_"Nah," Paige retorted, "I'm not thirsty."_

_Her response queued practically all the divas to laugh. "Don't be such a baby," they all cooed in practically unison._

_Paige swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat as she pulled a fallen strand of deep brunette hair from her face back behind her ear. "Here goes nothing," she muttered quietly to herself before taking a shot. She listened as her fellow workers cheered her on, causing her cheeks to grow redder with embarrassment._

_"There you go," Layla joked, patting the younger girl on the back. _

_The brunette forced a smile. "You all act like I've never done this before," she said as she reached for another shot._

_"Take it easy there, Tiger. You don't want us to have to carry you back to the hotel," Natalya teased. _

_"Are you kidding me? I grew up around drunks in wrestling arenas. I've practically been drinking since I was ten. I know how to hold myself together." Receiving a raised eyebrow from almost all the other women, she smirked before grabbing the small glass and swallowing another shot._

_One shot became two, and so-on and so-forth. Eventually, she'd downed enough drinks to drown in. But, she was right. Even when she hit double-digits on drinks, she wasn't wincing. Nothing had affected her yet._

_A few of the Divas ended up leaving before they were done, leaving Paige, Layla, and Emma alone in the bar. _

_That's when things got a little out of hand._

_Paige didn't remember, nor did anybody else really, how many drinks she'd had before three of the most intimidating guys on the NXT roster entered the bar: Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins._

_They all new by then that the three men were getting ready to be signed to the main roster, but no dates were set. But that didn't stop them from heading out to celebrate early._

_"If it isn't my favorite girls," Dean commented as he came up from behind the three women._

_Layla casually rolled her eyes and smiled as she saw the other two men behind her. "If it isn't _my _favorite guys."_

_"Ouch," Dean said as he playfully grabbed his chest where his heart lays._

_"Don't act like it hurt."_

_"Layla, Layla, Layla," he repeated as he walked over and sat down next to a cheerful Emma. "Emma? Right?"_

_The drunk blonde smiled and looked down. "It is," she said quietly._

_"Don't mess with her, douche," Layla defended her friend._

_The two continued to mess with each other for the remainder of the night as the rest of the group sat amongst each other in near silence. While it took Paige what felt like forever to get drunk, it was within minutes that Seth was ready to fall off his stool._

_Paige giggled as the man, who she'd secretly always thought was handsome, struggled to keep himself on his seat. "Need some help?" she asked through slurred words._

_"I'm fine," he said flatly._

_Shrugging, the brunette went along with his excuse as she continued to scarf down more drinks. Eventually, she was getting ready to fall off of her seat as well, but she tried her best to remain seated._

_"You okay?" Seth asked, mocking her earlier questioning._

_She shook her head and then burst out into laughter. "If we're on the same page, I'm ready for bed."_

_Looking over in her direction, he awaited for her to look up. When she did, she caught his eyes immediately. Something written in them spelt out more than just a drunk slur. He seemed truly intent on her movements, motions, and her existence. _

_In that split second, she sent him a smile that he returned slightly. He slid a handful of cash across the bar and stood up._

_"Guys, I'm going to walk Paige back to the hotel. Call me if you need me?"_

_The group barely even noticed, only received a mixed reaction from Dean. However, he was too drunk to act on his suspicions and he watched the pair walk out of the bar, letting the door slam shut behind them._

_"So," Paige said as she stuffed her hands into her jacket pocket, "where are you really taking me?"_

_Smiling, he looked straight ahead. "To the hotel."_

_Pushing her lips together, she smiled sheepishly. Something in her could tell that he was being honest, which he was, but something inside of her also told her that he had other intentions._

_"What are we going to do there?"_

_He shrugged. "Probably watch some basketball."_

_"You're into basketball," she asked, in more of a disappointed statement._

_"You're not?"_

_She laughed and shook her head. "Basketball? Really?"_

_"It's fun," he defended._

_"Whatever you say."_

_Despite his assurance that all they would be doing is watching Basketball, the minute that the door of his hotel room opened there was no TV being turned on. Normally, Paige would have stuck her hand out and stopped him, but she didn't._

_Maybe it was the drinks, or even just the fact that she'd been secretly wanting to be with him since they'd met. _

_Not that she would ever admit that out loud._

_All she could do as she laid there, feeling him on top of her, was get lost in every single second they laid there like that. Feeling his lips pressing against her and every inch of her body was the only thing she could focus on. _

_Nothing else mattered._

_The next morning, however, the only thing that mattered was figuring out what happened._

_Paige woke up to silence and sunshine pouring into the room through the parted blinds. She rolled over and walked up to the window, looking out. It was then that she noticed how the view from the window had changed._

_She wasn't in her room._

_Turning around, she saw Seth, laying in _his _bed, still asleep. Her heart was pounding. What did she do? She didn't remember anything about the previous night, and the only hint as to what had happened was the articles of clothing that had been scattered about the floor. _

_That's when she began to panic._

_She rummaged through the room, tearing apart the random piles of clothes until she found her wardrobe from the night before: a simple white tank, deep blue skinny jeans, scuffed, black combat boots and a leather jacket. A little over-the-top for October, but the temperatures had dropped dramatically from the U.S. to England. _

_Taking in deep breaths, Paige focused on getting her things and getting out of that room. There was only one problem._

_She couldn't find her keys._

_She began to check everywhere for them. Every square inch of that room, she searched. She looked and looked until the sound of a groggy voice groaning diverted her attention to other things._

_"Paige?"_

_Her heart stopped, and she paused. She had been on her hands and knees checking underneath the bed when he called for her. Sitting straight up, the brunette raked a hand through her messy hair to see him, rubbing his face with his hands._

_"Yes," she scrambled herself together to answer._

_"What's your favorite color?"_

_His randomness caused her to stir in her stance. "What?" _

_"You have to have a favorite color," he chuckled, "what is it?" He watched as she took deep breaths, as if she'd been running miles before she showed up next to his bed. _

_Truth be told, he remembered everything that had happened the night before, and he desperately wanted to talk about it. To tell her how much he enjoyed her company, and how much he loved holding her in his arms, but he knew that it wouldn't come off the way he'd want. He'd probably screw something up, and mess up everything that was possibly forming between them._

_"Uh," she muttered as she stood up and climbed onto the bed where the half-naked man was laying inside his sheets, "I like black."_

_He tried to take her seriously, but he could only laugh. "Black?"_

_"Yes, black," she said, more serious than he took her. "What's wrong with liking black?"_

_"No," he said as he calmed down, "nothing. It's just...out of all the colors in the rainbow-"_

_"Black isn't in the rainbow, idiot."_

_Holding back a smile, Seth shook his head. "You're right. Sorry." He looked over at the woman who was already fully dressed, and he pictured her back in the position that she was when he fell asleep. He would never tell her, but he liked her better when she was the way before. "So," he mumbled, "you got into wrestling when you were a kid?"_

_"Thirteen," she corrected. She saw the way he was looking at her, and chills were sent through her spine. "I was thirteen, and I was just a replacement for one of the girls that my dad booked for this match."_

_"And the rest is history?"_

_She smiled. "And the rest is history," she confirmed._

_"That's a lot more interesting than how I got here," he snickered. In all honesty, he truly found his story interesting, mainly because it was the beginning of everything he had been waiting for. But as far as he was concerned, anything that she had done was more interesting than anything he had._

_It was a Sunday morning, one of the very few days that the superstars got some extra time off. With this in mind, they talked for nearly two more hours, never mentioning the night before. It felt so simple, for both of them. As if they'd mutually agreed to pretend like the bliss of the night before was nonexistent. As if it never happened._

_But it did. And, while they didn't mention it, they were happy that it did. _

_So, they sat there, two hours later, still talking about random, irrelevant things. Until they had run out of things to talk about besides...the incident._

_"So," Paige ended up breaking in, "what are we going to do?"_

_"About last night?" he asked, feeling dumb afterwards. He knew that she had been talking about the night before. It was obvious that she was wanting to bring it up, or at least sort things out. And he did too, but not as much as he wanted to just be there. In the moment. Not worrying about what they had to do later._

_"Yeah," she answered._

_He thought it over, but he couldn't come to a compromise. "What do you want to do about it?"_

_If she wasn't at a loss for words before, she definitely was then. "That's not fair," she managed to spit up._

_"How is that not fair?"_

_"Because," she said, "I barely remember what really happened. I don't think it should be my choice."_

_"Are you afraid you'll make the wrong one?"_

_"Is there a wrong one?"_

_He watched as her eyebrows raised and her eyes widened. He'd never really taken the time to see her. Sure, he'd looked at her before, 'checked her out' in every sense of the phrase before, but he'd never really taken the time to see her. To get to know the hidden features of her face. To watched as her eyes lit up when the sun reflected off of them. She was beautiful, absolutely beautiful, to him._

_Sitting up straighter, Seth pulled his hair out of his face. "I don't know if there's a wrong choice, but if there is, I don't want to be the one to make it."_

_She nodded. She knew where this was going, and while part of her was happy to get it all over with as fast as possible, she also didn't want it to be over as quickly as it began. These were always the moments that she wished never had to happen._

_"Then," she said flatly, "I guess we should just move on and pretend like this never happened."_

_As much as it killed him, he nodded. "I guess we should."_

_Forcing a smile, Paige looked over past him and saw a small shiny pile on his nightstand. "Can you hand me my keys?"_

_He looked over and grabbed them before tossing them back to the brunette. "Here you go."_

_"Thanks," she muttered as she stood up and straightened out her jacket. "I'll, uh, see you around."_

_"Sure," he said with small smile._

_After a moment of silence, the brunette sighed silently before walking to the front door, walking out, and closing it behind her. It wasn't until she was standing in the hallway of the English hotel that she truly understood her feelings for Seth._

_She just didn't understand that they were mutual too._


	4. Chapter 4

"You've got to be kidding me," Dean sighed as he threw his head back against the cushions of the cheap couch. "I was there? And I didn't stop you two?"

Paige and Seth exchanged confused looks as they sat across from each other on either sides of the worn-out coffee table. Thankfully, Paige had changed back into her street clothes, which still smelled like sweat and a wrestling mat.

"You were there the first night," Seth confirmed, "but we stopped after that."

Dean nodded. "You stopped sleeping together."

Paige winced at the sound of their relationship being summed up into that simple phrase. "Yes," she said, trying not to clench her teeth together too hard.

"We thought that it meant nothing, and that we should just pretend that it never happened." Seth looked up at the brunette who was standing across from him, looking down at her feet in shame. "But, one thing led to another and we ended up doing it again."

"But we're not together," Paige added. By that point, nothing could possibly make her feel more ashamed than having to explain everything that happened that first to a man who mistook her for some cheap hooker.

Dean brushed through his hair with his fingers before biting the inside of his cheek. "You're nailing a girl who doesn't want to have a relationship with you?" It took Seth a minute to come to terms with another one of his simplified versions of the truth, but when he did he nodded in confirmation. "Damn, man. And all this time we all thought you had no game."

"No game?" Seth silently muttered. "Who thought that I had no game?"

"The point is," Paige chimed in, ignoring Seth's upsetting comments. She knew that if she left him go on for too long, they'd all lose track of where they needed to head. "You can't tell anyone about this."

He sent them a nettling look of almost disappointment. "Why not?"

"Because," she responded before she could think of a reason.

Cocking his head to the side, Dean raised an eyebrow. "It's three in the morning. I should be out somewhere where nobody recognizes me, hooking up with some chick, and instead I'm sitting here listening to your sorry-ass excuses."

Paige stood silent, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets out of discomfort. "Just, don't tell anybody."

"Why is this so important to you two anyways? You're just screwing each other, it's not that bad."

"For you," Seth responded, "it wouldn't be _that _bad. But for us, it is."

Something within her told her that what he'd said wasn't supposed to make her feel as bad as she begun to feel after he said it. As if being embarrassed out of her mind wasn't bad enough, she was actually beginning to feel more sad than anything else.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You're pathetic."

"How?"

"You're keeping this a secret from everybody, when nobody would even care."

Paige bit her lip as Seth looked up at her, gazing into her eyes, begging her to help him. "Just, please. Please don't say a word." She slightly frowned, pulling her bottom lip under the top row of her teeth.

The dirty-blonde - physically and literally - pursed his lips together as a smirk formed at the corner of his mouth. "You and your pretty little accent. I can see why Seth keeps coming back for more," he cooed.

The brunette forced herself not to laugh at his comments, as she found them comfortingly comedic. It felt good to hear someone trying to make light of the sticky situation she'd gotten herself, and Seth, into. "Bloody hell," she muttered, "will you or will you not keep this a secret?"

"I will, I will!" He threw his hands up as if he were surrendering. "Jesus Christ. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were in love or something."

* * *

Despite the sworn secrecy of their meetings, Paige and Seth took a break from hooking up. Whether or not it had to do with Dean's finding out or not wasn't determined, by themselves either. All they knew was that they were taking a break.

If you can even take a break from something that was never really started.

"So, why aren't you going out with the rest of us tonight?" Emma asked, sliding on her jacket and stuffing random items into her oversized purse.

Paige raised an eyebrow at the sight of her petite friend with the large tote in her hands. "I don't feel quite up to it tonight."

"Oh come on," she sighed, "don't give me that crap. You used to love going out with us."

"That was before I won the Divas Title," she explained.

The blonde propped a hand on her hip. "You're kidding me, right?"

"What? I don't want to get all worked up again and make a fool of myself."

Emma let out a snort-filled laugh, throwing her head back in amusement. It wasn't until her eyes opened and saw the expressionless face of her friend that she settled herself down and calmed. "Wait, _again_?"

Her eyes widened, but she quickly returned her face to normal before answering. "Oh, you know," she said, trailing off down a pathless road.

"Know what?"

She somehow knew that her friend was enticing her meaninglessly, so she played along for her sake. "You know how I get."

"Actually," Emma said as she walked closer, "I don't. You never really get drunk, you know? You just get...tipsy."

"Why are we having this conversation?"

"Because you're being a selfish little bitch."

It was Paige's turn to laugh, so she did, letting out a wimpy giggle. "I don't want to go out to a club with you, where we're bound to get mauled by a drunk crowd, so that I can save my, and your, reputation. And I'm the bitch?"

Emma shrugged. "If the shoe fits." The blonde got back up and began to throw things into her purse again as Paige stood up and walked after her.

"The shoe _doesn't_ fit, and I'm still not going."

"Fine," she sighed, "have it your way. And by your way, I mean the boring, stare-at-a-wall-for-hours kind of way."

She felt as the blonde lazily pressed a hand against her shoulder, barely cupping it with her finger tips. "Is there a reason you're touching me?"

"Just feeling pity for you, that's all."

The brunette rolled her eyes and walked back, returning to her seated position on the hotel bed. "Don't _pity _me. I'll be fine, in my room, alone."

"In _our _room, I may remind you." Once the Australian native finished packing her already overstuffed tote, she rested her palms on her hips, wrapping her fingers around the bones. "I think I'm done."

"Done packing everything we own?" Paige teased.

"No," she said, shaking her head in a mocking fashion. "I'm headed out."

"Don't get lost," Paige called out as her friend made her way for the door.

"Don't invite over some random guy and get knocked up," her friend retorted, closing the door behind her.

Once she was alone, the brunette sighed and stared around the empty room in silence. She'd never fully realized how quiet things truly got when her bubbly companion left the room, and she'd never admit it, but she didn't like the feeling of eerie silence that surrounded her.

Sitting back, Paige allowed herself to recall what had happened with Seth. For some reason, nothing made full sense to her. She knew that they were walking on thin ice after Dean discovering their secrets, but she also knew that he promised he'd keep it with his mouth shut.

And she knew that keeping his mouth shut wasn't one of his strong suits.

Suddenly the brunette felt a vibration coming from her pocket. She reached in and pulled out her phone to see that there was one text message from Emma.

_"Call me when staring at a wall gets boring!"_

Paige rolled her eyes and snickered under her breath. Thoughts crept into her mind, and she knew that she would end up regretting it, but with Seth being absent from her life she had nothing fun to do anymore. So, she grabbed her jacket and caught a cab that took her to the spot Emma sent her.

* * *

Neon lights and loud music were the only things Paige could focus on. She knew how much her friends enjoyed the usual quick trip to the local clubs wherever they happened to be that week, but she'd almost forgotten the chaotic scenes that were unfolding in front of her.

She couldn't remember how long she'd been wandering through the crowd before she spotted the quirky blonde who was dancing in the middle of their friends, not even caring about the people who had surrounded her. Part of her wished that she could be that care-free, but then she remembered how important her career was to her and how even the slightest misconception by a fan or co-worker could be the end-all-be-all of her dreams.

It was surprising to her that it wasn't Emma who noticed her first, but it was the ferocious Tamina Snuka who approached her through the dense crowd.

"Paige," Tamina called out over the rough music.

The raven-haired Diva faintly smiled at her former rival, trying her best to be decent. "Hello," she forced herself to say.

"I know that this wasn't your idea."

"What? Coming here?" She nodded. "I came here all on my own."

"Sure," Tamina spoke up, "I'm sure that you didn't get the speech as Emma was getting ready either."

Paige snickered at the woman's righteous comments. Although she knew that what she had been saying was the truth, she still didn't want to accept defeat. "I just wanted a break, okay?"

The older Diva held her hands up as a symbol of surrender. "It is what it is."

"Paige? You came!"

Turning her head, Paige forced a brighter smile toward Emma. "I came," she confirmed.

"What changed your mind?"

Looking down at the half-way empty cup in her friend's hand, she sighed as she remembered the first night with Seth. "I guess I just needed some fresh air."

Drunk and confused, Emma didn't even realize the irony in her friend's comment. "Well, then it's a good thing that you showed up when you did! We just paid the DJ to play something good!"

"Great," she muttered, trailing off as she was dragged into the center of a messy, chaotic crowd.

She knew that this was going to be a very long night.

* * *

**I am extremely happy with the lovely comments that you've all left on the previous chapters. You're all the reason I continue with my writing journey, and I'm so thankful that each of you even stumbled onto this story. I don't know why I'm feeling so sentimental, but there's my little note.**

**Quick thanks to the following people for their reviews! (I won't always do this, but I felt like it was necessary):**

**_dashinginconverse, ZebraNinjaCookies, Savannah Webber, Wolfgirl2013, flowersNfreaks, ramenreignss! _You're all the best! :)**

**Thanks for reading! See you in the next update.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5! Sorry for the wait; I had finals this week, and now I'm out for summer! So you can expect a lot of updates on my stories - as well as some new stories - within the next three months. Oh goodness me, how lovely that sounds.**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

He'd lost count of the amount of times he'd looked back to make sure she was still standing in the remote corner of the club as if she were waiting for someone. And while he hoped that she was, and that if he were to walk up to her right then and there, she would graciously take him back and forgive him for not calling her, he knew that the idea was just a shout in the void.

Seth Rollins was despicably hopeless.

"Quit staring," Dean teased over the loud music, "she isn't going anywhere."

"You don't know that," the man said quickly and almost silently so Dean didn't hear. While his fears were possible, he also knew that it wasn't something that he should be concerned with. If he really wanted to talk to her, he always knew where to find her.

Even if it wasn't face-to-face.

"If she doesn't see you, then just pretend that she isn't there. Has she noticed you?"

Reluctantly, the two-toned haired man shook his head and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"See, there you go." Dean smiled and hooked his arm around his friend's shoulders, pulling him into a side-hug. "Why are you so sad, bro? She was just your past time anyways."

He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard before nodding. "You're right. You know, we're here to have fun. I'm not going to let some girl who I barely even know come between us and a good time."

"Now you're talking!" Dean encouraged as he walked him towards a women-filled bar, ordering them both drinks. "So," he began as he and his friend sat down, "I want to know everything."

"Everything?" he asked, as if he really needed to. He knew that his friend was asking for the details, and he didn't want anything spared, so when he nodded he didn't hesitate. "We'd meet every once in a while, no big deal."

Dean shook his head. "Not enough. I need more."

"Like what?"

"Like," he said, emphasizing his eagerness, "how was she?"

While the question briefly disturbed him, he didn't want to alarm him by refusing to answer. "She's good."

"Just _good_?" Seth rolled his eyes and sipped the drink that was handed to him. "Hell, you should be thanking me for stepping in then. You deserve more than just someone whose 'good'. You should be running through the town, picking up girls when you feel like it. Not waiting around for The Call."

"The Call," Seth restated.

Nodding, Dean raised his glass. "The Call. You know, you're sitting around your room with nothing to do and your phone goes off. You look at the number, get a little excited, but are hesitant to answer. Why, I don't know, but you are. Then, you kick yourself in the ass, pick up the damn thing and swallow your Goddamn pride."

The man embarrassingly shook his head, trying to deny what was the truth. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"So you've been the one calling the shots?"

"Yeah," he partly lied as he finally turned to look his friend in the eye. "I've called all the shots. And that's why I'm not here with her tonight: I didn't call her."

Nodding his head with a smirk as if he approved, the blonde finished off his drink and began staring off at the women around him. "Well then, Mr. Big-Shot. Tell me who you want and I'll get her."

Seth laughed. "You think you can get a girl for me?"

"C'mon," he begged, "I've got skills, man. You remember Vegas, right?"

"Everybody remembers Vegas."

The duo turned around to the sudden outburst, and to both of their surprise, and Dean's misfortune, it was Paige.

"Paige," Seth said quietly, trying hard not to sound too happy about her appearance. "I didn't see you here."

She nodded and pulled back a fallen strand of hair. "Sure you didn't," she stated, acknowledging that she'd seen him earlier.

Dean, who was annoyed at the interruption of what was supposed to be his night out began clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Can we help you?"

"Can I talk to Seth for a minute?"

"He's busy."

The brunette looked over at the man in question, who wasn't busy at all as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. "Oh, right. You're right, he's very busy at the moment. I'll just come back when his schedule clears up."

"Thank you," Dean said, turning back and facing Seth, who looked dazed.

"What," he mumbled, "no, wait, Paige hold up." He hurried over to the woman who had already begun to walk away. "What's up?"

Smiling, the brunette shook her head and took the man outside to the alley behind the club. "Tamina left like an hour ago, and I've completely lost touch with Emma. Hell, she's probably throwing up her bloody guts in the bathroom." She looked over at the man who was seemingly uncomfortable with her comments. "Sorry, that's not why I dragged you out here. I actually wanted to speak to you."

"I'm here," he assured.

"You're here," she confirmed, mostly for her own sake. "So, um, why haven't I heard from you? Did Dean rattle you or something?"

The man sighed and shook his head. Raking a hand through his hair, he thought hard about what he was going to say. "I don't know. I guess I was just waiting for you to call."

"Well, when I didn't, why didn't you?"

He let out a chuckle. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"You're pathetic," she teased. "I was actually really disappointed. I wasn't expecting Dean to come in and ruin everything, and when he did it kind of messed up my night."

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked forward toward her without getting too close. "Well, if you aren't doing anything right now..."

Smiling, she raised her eyebrows. "I'm not..."

"It's only," he looked down at his phone, "dammit. It's three in the morning."

"So? Who've you got to go to?"

"Paul," he breathed, "at eight. I completely forgot about our meeting."

With even more disappointment than she had before, she nodded. "Well, then I guess it'll just have to wait."

"Rain check?" he asked, as if it were something they could compromise on. "I should be free later this week, like after RAW or something. You know, if you're cool with that."

She was unaware at the time of how rapidly she was nodding. "That's wonderful." It was after she'd said it that she realized how weird it sounded, and it was then that she started laughing. "It sounds so strange."

"What does?"

"We're scheduling sex."

He laughed light-heartedly. "We've got a busy schedule."

"Please," she begged, "don't try and make us sound normal."

"I'm not! Trust me, I, in no way, think that we are normal. If anything, we're the complete opposite of normal, and it's perfectly fine with me."

Paige tightened the grip around her jacket. "Good. We're in agreement, then. I'll see you on Monday."

* * *

As the scenes unfolded in front of her, Paige cursed under her breath.

"What is he doing?"

The brunette didn't turn to answer her friend's question. "He's making a huge mistake."

Paige and Emma sat in silence as they watched Seth use a chair to symbolically demolish the other members of The Shield. The English Diva knew that a split was on the brink of happening, but she had frantically tried to push the thoughts out of her mind. His career wasn't only important to him and the WWE's audience, but it was also important to her.

Her eyes grew wider as he exited the ring and joined an embrace with the company's powerhouse, Triple H.

"You think this was what his meeting was about yesterday?" Paige asked her friend, still not removing her eyes from the screen.

Emma had stopped scrolling through her phone to answer. "He had a meeting yesterday?"

She nodded. "With Paul."

"Maybe," she replied. "But, whatever it was about, this is amazing. History is being made, Paige! This is turning out to be so much better than I thought."

"What are you talking about? He's ruining his career!"

"What?"

Paige sighed. "His whole career in this company has revolved around The Shield. Won't it be strange not seeing them all enter the arena together? Don't you think it's going to be a little weird seeing him every week without that vest on?" She continued to watch as the screen faded to black, and the WWE's logo appeared on the screen.

_Of course, _she thought. _They'll just use him to do their dirty work._

"Sure, it'll be different. But in a totally hot way! Just imagine seeing him without a shirt on," she joked.

The brunette finally closed her eyes. "You're so un-professional," she whispered to herself, quiet enough that her friend didn't hear her. Minutes passed before she found a reason to stand up and leave the room.

She didn't realize how fast she was walking until the sights and sounds of the arena around her became blurred, so she slowed down. If it weren't for her excessive cardio training, she knew that she would be breathing heavily. In all honesty, she didn't even know where Seth's locker room was, so she wandered around until she saw a familiar face that wouldn't judge her for seeking out answers.

"Dean!" she called out, walking towards him as he limped back through the halls. "Have you seen-"

"Not now," he snapped, holding out one hand while the other grasped a hold of his leg.

She swallowed her next question and waited until he was far enough down the hall that he might not hear her following him. Which, he didn't. He led her all the way down to the locker room and didn't even realize that she was only a few feet from his backside.

Once he went inside, she waited next to the door in hopes that Seth either hadn't gone in yet and would see her on his way, or had been in there for a while and would be walking out soon. At least, sooner than Dean.

After ten minutes of waiting in silence, she heard a pair of boots slapping against the tiled floor from around the corner.

"What the hell was all that?" Paige walked up to the man and angrily shoved him back. "You cancel our plans to go to a meeting that changed your entire career, and you didn't even bother to tell me?"

Seth stood in bemusement, not even trying to understand why she was upset. "I'm sorry," he lazily apologized.

"Don't," she said, calming down, "I shouldn't have yelled, and I'm sorry."

Despite the soreness that filled his body after the match he had the night before, he laughed. "You're sorry for yelling?" Shaking his head, he continued to laugh. "You're in the wrong business if you're apologizing for yelling."

"Fine," she snapped, "I'm not _sorry _that I yelled at you. You deserved that. I just should've been more careful."

"You make no sense," he retorted.

She stood in silence and looked on as he shifted in his stance, obviously uncomfortable. "So, you agreed to betray your brothers."

"Betray is a strong word."

"Betray is right word," she countered. "You literally stabbed them in the back. Dean, in the front, but that's only if you're getting technical."

"I just needed to...prove something, I don't know. When Paul told me about the segment, I figured that I should take what ever chances I have to make a name for myself." He reached behind his head and scratched the back of his neck.

"Seth, do you remember the match that you had last night?" He nodded slightly. "You've already made a huge name for yourself."

On the inside, he took the compliment with a gracious heart. But, on the outside he only shrugged and sighed heavily. "I just hope they take it well."

Her eyes grew wide.

He didn't tell them.

"You didn't tell them?" Paige was shell-shocked. When he gave her the 'I-know-it-was-a-bad-idea' look, she dropped her jaw. "You didn't tell them that you were going to turn on them? Seth!"

"I didn't have much of a choice in the matter! I was planning on telling them, but Paul suggested this so that it would look more real."

"Look more real?" She was honestly disgusted. "Seth, they're your friends. They trusted you, not just as a performer, but as a friend. Got that? A _friend_."

He never really thought about their feelings before. He just figured that if he did what was best for business, then they couldn't be upset with him. They would eventually get the perks they deserved from whatever actions were taken, so it just seemed fitting to make the whole situation feel and look more real.

Even if it did mean keeping his betrayal a secret.

"Have you seen them? I want to talk to them."

Shrugging, Paige gestured toward the locker room. "Dean's in there right now. But, I'd be careful. He's in a bad mood." With that, she walked off, making sure to bump into his shoulder on her way past him.

"So I guess we aren't meeting up later?"

She knew that he wouldn't take it too harshly, so she replied by flipping him off as she exited the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, we're done. No more tagging and stuff. That's it?"

Seth bit his tongue. He knew that this whole thing would be hard, but after all that he'd done to get there, it was that much harder.

"I guess," he sighed. It'd taken him merely twenty minutes to explain what happened, and then another hour to explain why he did it. Paige had already left the building, probably too pissed to speak to him, so he knew that he had no one to go home to.

Dean scratched his head and cleared his throat. "Why wouldn't you tell us? Did you really think we weren't going to be okay with all this?"

"I didn't know how you would take it," he admitted. "I guess I was just afraid that you wouldn't want to do it. This was my chance, I had to take it. And Paul convinced me that not telling you guys would work out for all three of us."

"Dude, you obviously don't know me."

"Really? So, you would have been fine with me screwing you over?"

He chuckled sadistically. "It wouldn't have screwed us over if you'd had told us."

Seth realized then how badly he's messed everything up. He had treaded on grounds that were slippery and dangerous. And he did it without even thinking about the repercussions. All because he wanted something more than what was given to him; something that so far hadn't lived up to its hype.

"Look," Dean spoke up again, "I'm not mad about the damn thing. I'm just confused, but I'm sure its nothing a drink or two won't fix."

He let out the air that was taking up the space in his lungs. "Don't drink it away, Dean. It isn't worth it."

"Don't tell me about its worth," he snapped. "I can mess up if I want to, but you can't tell me what I'm doing is wrong."

Something within him kept him from being able to decipher whether he was genuinely angry with him or not. All the signs between him raising his voice and him looking as if he was ready to beat the living soul out of him pointed at him being pissed. But then again he always had fit the definition of bipolar.

"Alright," he gave up, "tell me what it is that I need to do in order for you to forgive me."

A moment after what Seth thought his friend was using to think, Dean laughed.

"What's so funny?"

He shrugged. "I know what you need to do."

"Okay," Seth urged, "tell me what it is, and I'll do it."

A sly smile crept its way onto the man's face. "Tell Paige how you _really _feel about her."

"What?" Seth asked, standing up and feeling all the blood rush down to his feet. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh c'mon, man! You know that you've got a thing for the chick, it's really easy to see." He watched as his friend seemed to squirm under his control, and leaned back, resting his head in his hands. "All you got to do is tell her the truth."

"There's nothing to tell her," he insisted. "Like you said, we're just screw-buddies."

"Nah," Dean denied, "I just said that in the heat of the moment. It's obvious to me now that you both have the hots for each other."

If it weren't for the extremity of the air conditioning that they had in the arenas, Seth knew that his face would be red. Burning red. And for the exact reasons that it shouldn't.

"Why are you being so persistent on me lying to her?"

The dirty-blonde haired man stood up and picked his bag up off of the floor. "I never used the word _lie_, my friend. If you want my forgiveness, make it happen. It's all you've got to do."

* * *

Paige smiled out the window in front of her, admiring the beautiful view from her hotel room. It was one of the few things she loved to do now that she didn't have the chance to fly home in between shows. Just to get the chance to relax before she was shoved out into a hectic match was comforting enough, but the scenery in front of her was icing on the cake.

The raven-haired Diva sat back in her seat and reached over to take a sip from her iced tea. Despite how hard she was trying to block out all distractions so that she could remain calm, her mind kept wandering back to Monday night.

So many things were changing in her life. And just when she thought she had someone that could help her cope with the transitions, he had to mess up.

Badly.

At the same time, she was the only person she knew personally that found something wrong with Seth's heel turn. In her mind, what Seth had done made things between them that much more difficult. Now, she had to worry about how people would take the new look for him. If people don't accept him for his turn than the company could possibly decide that they don't want to use him for anything anymore. And if anybody in this company knows anything about becoming a jobber, it's that the title "jobber" only refers to a person who is minutes away from getting released.

Just as her thoughts were getting deeper and more difficult to handle, a knock on her door brought her back into reality. Standing up, Paige put her tea back on the small table that was sitting next to the window and pressed down on the shirt that she was wearing so that it wasn't bunched up.

Twisting the door knob and opening up the door, she forced herself not to be too excited with the image of Seth Rollins standing at her door.

"I thought you would be too busy for me now that you've sold out," she teased.

He knew that she didn't mean what she'd said, so he smiled just to humor her. "I'm not that busy."

Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, the brunette silently invited him into her room. She remembered Emma stating that she wouldn't be back for hours, so she felt secure knowing that she would get to be alone with Seth without getting disturbed anytime soon.

Not that she was ready for anything to happen. Not just yet.

"What can I do for you?" Paige asked as she walked over to her spot next to the window, resuming her position.

"Have you been staring out there for long?" He followed her and looked out through the glass at the view of the city ahead of them. It was a beautiful sight to behold, but in his mind he kept thinking about how it paled in comparison to the woman next to him. "Don't you get bored?"

She shrugged. "Hard to get bored with something so gorgeous. Don't you think so?"

He nodded, but she didn't get to see as she never took her eyes off the scene. "Anyways, I wanted to talk about last night for a second."

"Look," she said, turning to face him. "I'm not going to judge you for the choices you've made. While I find them to be appalling, I'm not going to sit here and make you feel bad about it. After all, Dean probably put you through hell for it already."

Laughing a bit at the comment, Seth made himself comfortable on the bed. "Actually, he didn't."

"Really? I'm shocked. I thought that he would have your head for that one."

"If we're being honest, so did I." Thinking back to the agreement he'd made, he bit his tongue before continuing. "But we met on common grounds."

Smiling slightly, Paige nodded. "That's wonderful. I'm happy that he wasn't too unforgiving."

There was a pause in conversation where the raven-haired woman returned her gaze back out through the window. Seth watched as she focused on the outside world, while she was being focused on by him. It was a concept that he wouldn't think about describing; being smitten by her.

Completely against the rules.

"So now that we're straight," Paige chimed back in, "why don't you tell me the real reason you're here."

He quietly sighed and gently threw his head back. "Everything with you seems to be so much more difficult."

"That's because I'm not easy."

_No, you're definitely not._ Seth jerked his hands into his jacket pockets and stood up as if he had suddenly become uncomfortable in her presence. Something about the way she strode around in all her glory caused his heart to feel jittery and it made his mind feel childish.

"I think it's time for me to hit the road," he said as he turned around to leave.

Paige stood up quickly to protest. "Why don't you stay?"

Pushing back a smile, he turned back to face her. "Won't Emma be back soon?"

She pressed a finger to her chin, acting like she was thinking about what he's asked as she walked toward him slowly. "Not for...I'd say another few hours or so."

Allowing the smile to show through his neutral expression, Seth leaned in and kissed her. "I guess a few hours would do."

* * *

**There's the chapter! Sorry, it's a tad shorter than my usual updates, but I didn't want to add another irrelevant scene there at the end. I hope that you all enjoyed, and please don't forget to vote for the poll that is currently on my profile page! Every vote counts, and it would really help me out. :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the kind of short/not-so amazing chapter. But, I promise that I'll make up for it. I just felt like I needed to leave it at a cliffhanger, so that's what I did. Please don't hate me? :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Pushing away her hair so that there wasn't a single strand on her face, Paige sat back in the chair designated for her. She personally didn't enjoy getting her hair and make-up done, but as long as she didn't have to waste time to do it herself, she wasn't going to complain.

The English Diva tried her best to relax, but the continuous chatter amongst the other Divas was blocking her from the satisfaction. Clenching her jaw, Paige opened her eyes and looked into the mirror in front of her at the other women who where sitting beside her. While all she wanted to was punch them each in the face one by one, she opted not to for the sake of her reputation.

Even though being a kickass in this business is more pride worthy than being a light-hearted angel.

She remained silent all the way through their girly conversations up until a certain someone's name was brought up.

"Can you believe that Seth turned his back on Dean and Roman?"

Natalya shook her head at Nikki's comment. "It's all part of the bigger plan, Nicole. Just imagine how great this will be for them. They'll be even bigger superstars in no time at all."

"Whatever," Nikki hissed. "I'm just excited to see them get rid of those vests."

"Nicole!" Brie screeched, obviously not too surprised by her twin sister's outburst. "You have a boyfriend, Nicole."

"A boyfriend who I'd murder if he ever put on a vest that covered up that chest of his."

"Like they even make vests in that size," Natalya joked, causing a rippling laughter effect to follow.

The only girl who didn't laugh, or even feel amused by the topic, was Paige. And the other women found that to be odd.

"Paige," Nikki called over to the silent Diva. "What do you think about the whole thing?"

"With The Shield?" The Latina nodded. "I think it's an interesting move, I guess. It isn't really up to me."

"Well, I know that it isn't up to you. It isn't up to any of us. I was just hoping to get some insight from RAW's newest Diva." In all honesty, Nikki didn't care, or have any reason to care, about what Paige had to say. Call it having manners, or being polite, but the so called 'veteran' of the Divas' Division knew that she should get on the good side of any and every newcomer that she could. It looked better for her.

Paige smiled slightly, pretending that she believed what the woman had said. After being a wrestler for almost half of her life, she knew all the games and tricks. After all, this wasn't the first time she'd been stabbed in the back or lied to by another female wrestler. The idea that you need 'friends' and 'enemies' in the business to gain a higher position on the roster was overrated, yet one of the most common of them all.

"I guess I'm just not at liberty to give any," Paige lied before returning to her slightly comfortable seating arrangement.

Nikki forced a pleasant look in the Brit's direction before returning her gaze to her reflection in the mirror. "So, Paige...you've been wrestling for how many years again?"

"Nine."

"You started when you were...what, thirteen?" Nikki asked, trying to sound as impressed as she could. When the younger Diva nodded in response, she nodded in return. "That's interesting. So, you could say that it's like your passion."

Paige shrugged. "You could say that."

"I think that it's amazing," Natalya coughed up, joining in on the conversation. "Growing up in the Hart Family, I've always felt like I've needed to be better than the guys, you know? It's cool to see that some of our rookies are following that same path."

Even though she knew the woman meant well, Nattie's comments somehow pushed a wrong button. Perhaps it was the backhanded term _rookies_.

"I wouldn't call myself a _rookie _perhaps," Paige muttered through her slightly clenched teeth.

"I meant in the WWE."

Nodding her head, the brunette acted to feel welcomed by the group. "I know you did," she lied.

* * *

While Emma and Paige had a growing friendship that was self-described as fun and exciting, it was the only real friendship that the Australian Diva had. Sure, she enjoyed the occasional chit chat with her fellow wrestlers, but their conversations never exceeded casual.

Pulling her hair up into a tight bun, Emma finished putting her wrestling gear into a suitcase. Paige had already left for the night, for reasons unknown to the public, so the blonde was left alone in the locker room to put away her things. She was zipping up her luggage when the sound of the metal door opening and closing.

"Forget something?" she asked as she turned around, unaware of who was behind her.

"No," Dean said, loud enough to startle the 24-year-old.

She turned around in a panic. She recognized the voice from her television, and the rare moments that they were in the same proximity as one another, but this was the closest they'd ever been to each other.

Gulping a little, Emma kept a neutral expression. "How may I help you?"

Snorting a laugh, Dean shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and walked closer. "Are you afraid of me?"

"What?" The blonde shook her head rapidly. "Me? Why would I be afraid of you? That's nonsense."

He nodded. "You're afraid of me." Despite her continued denial, he kept talking. "Look, I'm not here to intimidate you. I'm looking for Seth, and I know you're a friend of Paige. So if you know where she is then-"

"Woah, wait a second. Paige? Why would she lead you to Seth?"

Dean raised his eyebrows at her naïve nature surrounding the situation between their friends. Although he wanted to tell her and spoil things for them, he kept his earlier promise and didn't say a word about their 'friends with benefits' relationship.

"I saw them talking earlier," he lied, covering his tracks. "I was going to see if they were still together."

Emma shook her head and picked up her bag. "Paige already left and I don't know where to."

"Aren't you two sharing a room back at the hotel?"

"If you're so interested in finding Seth, why don't you just get out your phone and call him?" After getting it all out in one breath, the woman began to exit the locker room, but the older man wrapped his hand around her forearm, preventing her from escaping. "Let go of me," she ordered without separating her teeth.

After a moment of silence, Dean did as he was asked. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Scare me," she scoffed. "Please, I'm not afraid of you."

A smile found its way onto his face and he repositioned himself so that he was balanced on both legs. "Good."

She wasn't sure what she was seeing in him in that moment, but the image of her reaching up and kissing him wouldn't leave her mind. Forcing herself to forget it, she choked up the word, "Good," in response.

* * *

"What are you thinking?"

Looking down at the woman in his arms, Seth tried not to smile. "Do I look like I'm thinking?"

"People are always thinking," Paige informed him. "And you, sir, are no different."

Letting out a yawn, the man raked a hand through his hair. "There's just a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Well don't be shy. I'll listen."

"Is listening a part of the game now?"

The brunette released her grip around the man and sat up with wide eyes. "This is game now?"

"Hasn't it always been? We had rules, and games have rules." Seth looked deep into the rich eyes of the woman next to him. She somehow became more and more mysterious as the days went on, and as much as he'd like to solve the mystery, he knew that it would spoil the fun.

Paige, on the other hand, saw nothing suspicious in Seth. He was exactly who he said he was. Charming, stubborn, and often enough, stupid. Not that she was complaining about it, however. Because she knew that she could tell him things and not have to worry about her secrets leaving the room. He was trustworthy and honest; two traits that she'd always prayed that someone close to her would have.

"Just tell me what it is and I'll listen. The game is on pause."

Sighing, Seth rolled his head around. "I'm supposed to tell someone something in order for Dean to forgive me, but I can't tell this person it."

Unaware of the fact that he was talking about her without mentioning her name, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, does this thing you're supposed to say involve the other person getting shot or something?"

"Shot?" He laughed. "Trust me, I don't have that kind of power."

"Then what is it? C'mon, I told you that you could tell me anything!" She leaned forward as she begged. "I promise that whatever it is, it won't leave this room."

Knowing that it would take a lot more than courage to cough up what he wanted to say, Seth pulled the sheets closer to himself and took a deep breath. "Alright," he muttered. "Dean wanted me to-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door to the hotel room swung open, and there stood a very stunned Emma, and a very intrigued Dean Ambrose.


	8. Chapter 8

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Seth couldn't keep his hand from shaking as he desperately pulled his jeans up and secured them with his belt. He hadn't even imagined Emma finding out about his 'relationship' with Paige, who was her best friend. While he hoped that they could trust her with the secret, he also partially wanted to tell the world about them.

If _they _were a thing.

Paige, on the other hand, was doing pretty good at remaining calm even though her best friend just walked in on her and Seth half-naked. Sure, it wasn't that scandalous compared to what she, and the other women, wear out to compete in, but it was still highly embarrassing. She hurried along and pulled on her street clothes, making sure to slip on the heavy leather jacket as a precaution. By that point she didn't want any unnecessary skin showing. Enough had been seen to last that poor girl for a lifetime.

"Oh my God," Emma shouted as she covered her eyes and turned around to face the hallway. "Please tell me that this isn't happening." When nobody said anything, she took her hands from her face, grabbed Dean by the collar and shook him. "TELL ME THAT THIS ISN"T HAPPENING!"

All Dean could do was glance at Paige and Seth, who were too busy dressing themselves to notice that the blonde woman was losing her mind. He felt his eyes grow wider and wider, but she wouldn't remove her hands from his shirt.

"Jeez, woman." Dean took staggered breaths as he pried the woman's hands away. "I'm guessing this is why you didn't know where Seth was. You had no clue that they've been sleeping together."

"DEAN!" Paige and Seth practically shouted in unison.

"What? It's not like she doesn't know now," he said as he snorted out a laugh.

Once Paige was dressed, she pulled her hair up into a high pony tail and walked toward her friend, pulling her into the room and allowing Dean to close the door. "It's okay, Emma. Take a deep breath and calm down."

"Calm down? How the hell do you expect me to calm down after seeing _that_?"

The raven-haired woman brought her friend to the couch and sat her down, handing her a glass of water that had been sitting there for a while. She figured that the drink would be fine and handed it to her despite not knowing where it came from. It wasn't until Emma spit it out, probably due to the shock, and it went all over the Brit. Using her fingers, she wiped away the water from her face and sighed.

"Emma," Paige seethed, "Please calm down."

"I'm trying! It's kind of difficult to do when the sight of you and Sellout over there getting it on is still burning in my brain." The blonde jerked a hand through her hair and threw her head back against the couch cushions behind her. "How the hell did this even happen? And, please, tell me that this is just a one time thing."

Seth walked over to Dean and pulled him aside. "Why were you two coming here?"

Smirking, Dean thought it would be funny to mess with his friend's head. "Oh, you know, we decided that if you and Paige could have some fun than we could too. I figured that you two would be at your place, so we came here."

"Cut the crap, Dean. What were you really doing?"

"I was looking for you," he admitted. "I came to her looking for Paige, thinking that you would be with her - which I deserve a round-of-applause by the way because I hit it on the nose - and she said that I could follow her to their room."

"Boys," Paige called. "I can't focus on her when you two are over there flirting."

"Flirting?" Seth furrowed his eyebrows before he felt Dean's arm teasingly wrap around his shoulder. Shaking it off, he walked over and sat down on the armchair across from the couch that the two women were sitting.

Taking a deep breath, Emma relaxed. "Start from the beginning."

After a quick look exchanged between the guilty, Paige nodded in her friend's direction. "It all started that night in Europe when we all went out to the bar together. Seth showed up with Dean and Roman, and...one thing led to another."

Emma shook her head in denial. "Nope," she said quickly, "You're good at holding yourself together after a couple of drinks. He had to do something to you! Beg you, pay you! I don't know, something!"

"Emma? Why is all this so hard for you to believe?" Leaning over, Paige got close to her face. "It's not like this hasn't happened to you," she whispered.

"This is different!" The blonde looked over at Dean, who was being surprisingly quiet, before returning her attention to her friend. "He's friends with _him,_" she said quietly, referring to the blonde-haired man behind her.

Dean, who wasn't deaf, heard what she'd said and leaned over the couch to get closer to the woman's ear. "I can hear you, you know."

"Bug off," she said as she swatted him away with her hand. She rested her hands on the top of her hand and closed her eyes, imagining the two together on that night she barely remembered. "Alright, I understand that you two did it once. But why would you do it again, and again?"

The question rung in Seth's ear like a bee's buzz. He'd questioned himself in the same way numerous times before, but he'd never really considered his options. He could say that he wasn't sure, or that it just became convenient, but all lies aside, he just couldn't stop. He couldn't stop seeing her. He couldn't contain the feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that he got every time they were in the same room. He couldn't help but get mesmerized by the feeling of her skin pressed against his in every aspect of the way. She was like a drug and he was the addict.

He just couldn't stop.

"Uh," Paige coughed. "I can't really answer that."

"Sure you can," Seth chimed in. He wasn't entirely sure why he spoke up, but he did and he couldn't take it back. "Just tell her the truth."

The Brit furrowed her eyebrows and shared a confused and utterly baffled with Seth before shaking it all out of her head and looking back at Emma. "Look, Emma, I really don't know. But what happened has happened and it is what it is."

"Wow," Emma muttered before laughing. "This is really weird. Um, I haven't got any words to describe what is running through my head right now." She shook her head before pressing her palm to her head multiple times. "Goodness, this is just really, _really _weird. I mean, first Dean comes around asking a bunch of questions that I haven't a clue how to answer, and then I walk in on you two having sex in our room. My brain is overflowing with information and I swear it is about to explode."

Paige clasped her hands together and rested her head on her knuckles. "This is pleasantly awkward."

"I wouldn't say it's pleasant," Dean chimed in before receiving a slap on the arm from Emma.

"Why don't I take Dean here out for a beer?" Seth asked, standing up and getting ready to drag his friend elsewhere.

Emma stood up and shook her head. "No, that's fine. You and Paige go back and...continue. I'll just take Dean."

Before Dean, Paige, or Seth could object, the blonde woman was dragging the man in question out of the room and slamming the door behind her. Once they were gone, Paige and Seth stood in shock.

"What in bloody hell just happened?" The woman asked, her hands still covering her mouth.

All Seth could do was shake his head. "She's crazy."

"Tell me about it," she responded.

Sighing, Seth walked over and squatted down next to the raven-haired woman. "It's going to be okay," he assured her. "She's just going to need some time to adjust to it, that's all. Just like Dean."

Scoffing, Paige stood up. "Don't even get me started on Dean. He's probably the one who made her come down here in the first place. He's probably the reason that I'm never going to be able to look Emma in the eye again."

"She'll come around," he said, laughing a little.

As she stood there, she thought about what he said. _'She'll come around'_. The way it was phrased, possibly unintentionally, made it sound like they were a couple desperately seeking approval for their relationship.

Which, despite what they say aloud, was partly true.

Meanwhile, Emma and Dean were already down the hallway and standing in line for the elevator by then. Rubbing his arm, Dean could only stare at the woman next to him.

"Mind telling me where you're taking me to?"

She turned to face him and uncrossed her arms. "How far away is your hotel room?"

"Oh, c'mon! It's only like, eleven o'clock! You can't seriously be taking me back to my room for the ni-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Emma grabbed his face and brought him to a heated kiss, surprising him. Not sure of what to do, Dean left his hands hanging by his side, as if he were in awe, while Emma continued to cup his face with her hands.

Pulling away, Emma turned back to the elevator. "Now, are you going to take me to your hotel room or not?"

Despite her gimmick as being a bubbly, clumsy, dumb-blonde, Emma was actually quite clever. If asked about her room tour by Dean, she wouldn't deny it. She felt embarrassed and partially betrayed by her friend for the simple fact that this whole time, they're relationship, or sexual partnership - whatever it's called - was kept a secret from her. Sure, she was sleeping with Dean as payback. Sure, she had no idea if it was actually going to work.

But it was something that she knew for sure that she would enjoy doing. And, if she would ever get asked if she was _only _doing this for the soul-purpose of getting back at Paige and Seth...she would choose not to incriminate herself.

* * *

**(Sorry for the miniature break, but I'm back! And I'm working on a supernatural WWE au story, so let me know if you're interested in that.)**

**So, this is another kind of short chapter, but it was full with a lot of dialogue, so I hope that it was still fairly enjoyable...? I also hope that you all can sense where this story is headed. With the already established Paige/Seth, and the hinted Dean/Emma; I have to say that I was hesitant to make Dean and Emma a couple, but after seeing the request and the build-up, I'm warming up to them.**

**PLEASE, pretty please, let me know what your thoughts on the story so far are! Let me know which couple you're liking more! And, give me some ideas on what should happen next, you know, if you want to. :)**

**Well, this was a long authors note that was pretty unnecessary. I'm going to stop writing now, haha.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Emma awoke to the strange smell of liquor and cigarette smoke. There was no light coming through the window and she could feel her legs aching with pain. While she didn't remember why her legs were so sore, she also had no idea as to where she was. She knew that she wasn't in her shared hotel room with Paige because neither of them smoked, and she didn't remember any of the surrounding rooms being occupied by smokers.

_Stupid hotel, not enforcing their no-smoking policy._

Turning her head cautiously, she was met with the sleeping eyes of Dean Ambrose. And that's when she put the pieces together.

Her first instinct was to slap him mercilessly until he woke up, but she ultimately decided against it. She looked over at the old clock and felt her heart jump. It was a little past three o'clock, which meant that she could make a clean getaway before anybody noticed that she was gone.

That is, if Paige had finally sent Seth on his way and fell asleep.

She took a deep breath before quickly pushing herself up and out of the bed where she laid. Grabbing her clothes that were piled up in the corner, she slipped them on and picked up her phone from the nightstand. She brought her hair up into a messy ponytail before walking quickly and quietly to the front door.

"Morning."

Stopped in her tracks, Emma couldn't speak. She clenched her fists together and turned around slowly to find that Dean was sitting up now, looking at her as if she were crazy. She relaxed her fists and took in calming breaths.

"You're awake," she said quietly.

He rubbed his face with his hand before raking it through his hair. "Yeah," he groaned. "Next time you try and make your walk of shame, don't elbow the guy in his face."

She watched as he remained expressionless, sitting there with his eyes closed as he stretched out the night's sleep. Unsure whether she should make a run for it or not, she stood in her spot without a sound, waiting for another word to escape from his mouth. When he threw his head back down onto the pillow beneath him, Emma slowly turned on her heels and walked on her toes toward the door before being stopped by yet another stirring sound.

"You going back so soon?" He sat up again, this time removing the sheets from his bare skin.

Turning back to face him, she clasped her hands over her phone and locked her fingers together. "I have no reason to stay, do I?"

Dean was so used to the usual running away without making a sound from his...partners...when they finished their business. So when the first woman to stand before him neutral to his attempts to send her away scared or even just a little nervous, he was at a loss for words.

"Uh," he muttered before rolling his shoulders back and shaking his head. "No. No, I guess you don't."

She smiled slightly at his stumble for words. Watching him fumble around was entertaining for her, to say the least. And as much as it pained her to think it, it wasn't too straining on the eyes. She spun back around on her heels and left the room, making sure to close the door loud enough that it would hopefully be painful to his tired ears.

She let out a sigh of relief before starting her trip back to her hotel room. Up the elevator and down the hall, Emma found her way back to her room and slid her key into the lock. Taking a cautious step into the room, she turned her back so that she could close the door in silence before turning around and gasping in shock.

"Where the hell have you been?" Paige asked, her arms crossing at the elbows.

After Emma calmed back down, she removed her hand from her chest where it was covering her frightened heart. "You scared me."

"Good," the raven-haired woman teased. "But, really - where have you been? I thought you'd come right back from wherever you took Dean."

Debating whether or not to tell her was a challenge. She could easily just come right out and say that she slept with Dean, who she despised with a passion. Or, she could do what her closest friend in the locker room had done to her and pretend that nothing happened at all until two years later when she would walk in on them naked in bed to tell her. While sneaky and sly, it was also more interesting.

Emma cleared her throat. "I dropped him off at his place and bumped into a few of the girls on the way back. We hit the bar," she lied and walked over to her bed, collapsing onto the mattress.

Paige wanted to believe her friend, and while she had no reason not to, she couldn't fully trust her. There was something hidden in her face that told her to dig deeper, but it was well past three in the morning and she was exhausted.

* * *

Pulling her hair up into a high pony, Paige bent over to begin her stretches. It was something she prided herself in; she was always able to squeeze in a few extra minutes a day for a quick workout despite her insane schedule. Even if it meant being the only person in the hotel gym at midnight.

She took a deep breath before climbing onto the treadmill next to a large glass window. After cranking up the speed on the machine, she began to escalate from a steady jog to a full-on sprint. She ran for a few minutes before a hand crept its way onto the machine, turning it off, sending the brunette to a sudden stop. She had to grab onto the bar on the machine to stop herself from flying out the window, the jerking motion of the stop scaring her so bad.

"What the hell was that?" Paige asked, stepping off the treadmill.

Seth smiled and rested a hand on the machine. "I called you, but you didn't answer."

"Because I've been here," she explained. "You could've just said my name, or tapped my shoulder, you know."

He shrugged. "That's no fun."

Paige's breath slowed back down to normal so she placed her hands on her hips. "What do you want?" While she was annoyed by his sudden appearance, she tried not to sound too angry about his presence. She did care deeply about him, after all.

"I wanted to see how Emma was handling everything."

"There's nothing for her to handle," Paige said. She grabbed a towel off the bench and slid it across her forehead. "She seemed fine; came back after going out for a few drinks with some of the girls."

Seth nodded. "That's what she told you?"

"Yes..." she trailed off. "What, did she tell you something different?"

He shook his head. "I haven't talked to Emma since that night. But, I think you should ask her about what she was really doing."

Paige raised her eyebrows. She wasn't used to him suggesting, or even being suspicious. "Are you saying that she lied to me?" She scoffed. "Emma's my friend, Seth. Just because she knows about us now won't change that."

"She slept with Dean," he said aloud.

She heard him loud and clear, but for some reason she didn't comprehend it at first. After thinking it over while she paced around the gym floor for a second, she began to laugh, catching Seth by surprise.

"What's funny about that?"

She shook her head. "I can't believe that she lied to me. And after she said all those terrible things about Dean," she seethed. "She lied to me!"

Seth nodded. "I think we've established that."

"She _lied _to me, and for what? So that she could get back at me for sleeping with you?"

"Did it work?" he asked, taking a small step away, afraid that she might take her anger out on him. Sure, he trusted that she could hold herself together, but he'd never seen her get angry over something that a friend did. He really didn't know what to think.

She stopped pacing briefly in front of him for a minute. Her mind raced through the possible explanations as to why he would think that she was affected by Emma's secretive behavior, but then she remembered she was standing in front of him with a pout on her face, and her mind ceased to race.

"Sort've," she admitted, before quickly jumping to her own defense, "But only because she lied."

Seth took another cautious step forward. "You did lie to her about us, too. Maybe she just felt that she couldn't come to you."

"Quit trying to be sympathetic," she demanded with a childish smile. "It's not helping."

"Well, then what should I try and do?" He took a few more steps toward her before they were inches from each other's face. He could smell the perfume he was so used to waking up to in the middle of the night to and it brought back nostalgic thoughts. Even though he still woke up to that same scent every-so-often.

Raising her eyebrows and looking off to the ceiling, she chewed her bottom lip lightly. "I don't see any security cameras."

He felt a laugh getting ready to escape from his lips, but he pushed it down so that he wouldn't ruin the moment. Tracing the line of sight she'd used to look over at the ceiling, he searched the area for any sign of a camera as well. He scanned the whole room until he spotted one, in the corner between the ceiling and the wall, pointed in their direction.

Should he tell her? Should he risk scaring her off and demolishing the moment so that they would be safe from someone who could potentially see the footage of their interactions? Or, should he follow his painfully annoying instinct to play it off cool and ignore it?

Option three would ultimately be his choice.

With a playful grin, Seth leaned in, closing the gap between their bodies. Once again he was engulfed in her every movement, and he forgot all about the pesky camera in the corner, eyeing them down with every second that passed.

* * *

It was all too obvious that Paige had something to say to Emma. But for the life of the often-ditsy blonde, she couldn't figure it out.

The two friends sat directly across from one another at a local café that was down the street from the arena that was hosting RAW for the night. It felt good for the both of them to get some fresh air, so when they spotted the small location with the tables outside, they couldn't resist.

The drive over had been awkward to say the least. With Paige knowing about Emma's secret, and Emma not knowing that Paige knew, it was a big disaster waiting to happen.

It just hadn't happened yet.

"So," Emma coughed up after moments of deafening silence, "How are you today?"

Forcing a smile, Paige looked at the blonde. "Absolutely wonderful."

"That's good," the blonde muttered before taking a sip from her latte. She would later feel so stupid for not realizing how apparent Paige's conflicted feelings for her were. But, she continued to be oblivious, sipping away at her beverage.

And it remained that way for weeks. Her sitting oblivious to every single one of Paige's attempts to pull a confession out of her. Even when she came right out and invited Dean over to their hotel room before making a swift getaway with Seth, returning to find the room a mess and Dean nowhere to be found.

Leaning over to Seth because Emma was sound asleep on the bed, Paige sighed. "I think we have a problem on our hands."

* * *

**Thank you for the kind reviews on the last chapter! I hope that this one was okay...? I hope all this Dean/Emma in a RollinsPaige story isn't too much. I've just had a sudden spark of inspiration to write those two, and I found a way to work it into this piece.**

**Also, if you haven't already and you'd like to read some more RollinsPaige, check out my one-shot that I published yesterday titled _Falling into Nothing_. It's my little take on what happened after Seth's betrayal. A combination of romance and heartbreak - my specialty. Haha, well check it out if you'd like!**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"So, rather than telling her that you were into her, you told her that I got into Emma?"

Seth sneered at the question. Covering his face with his hands, he pretended that he wasn't sitting next to Dean in his locker room, and that they weren't having this conversation. It was enough that he desperately wanted to be with Paige in public, but now he had his friend to worry about.

"I was going to tell her," he tried to explain, "but then you and Emma had to walk in and interrupt me."

With the memory of Emma still fresh on his mind, Dean smiled slightly at the mention of her name. She was so different from any other girl he had been with, and everything she did from her foreign accent to her controlling nature intrigued him.

"Sure," he said with a small chuckle. "Let's pretend that you did have guts for a minute and that you were going to tell her. What were you going to say?"

Seth looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I don't know."

"Told ya' you had no guts."

Sneering yet again at the comment, Seth shook his head. "I doubt she feels the same way."

"So you _do _have feelings for her." Dean snorted a laugh. "Pathetic. What did I tell you about falling for a girl?"

"Woman," Seth corrected under his breath. "You're one to talk. Just look at how head-over-heels you are for Emma."

"Emma?" Dean nearly choked on the water he'd taken a sip from. "You think I've got it for Emma?"

The man with the two-toned hair shook his head in disappointed disbelief. "You're so against love."

"What you've got for Paige isn't love, Seth." He eyed him down, making sure that he saw him. "And you know it. You just want to screw her without having to hide it all the damn time."

"Whatever," he seethed in response. Grabbing his bag off the floor, he walked over to the door before turning back one last time. "And for the record, Emma only slept with you to get back at Paige and I, so you can quit drooling over her."

* * *

He did it. He accomplished what everyone doubted he would.

He was Mr. Money in the Bank. And he knew, as he expected everyone else to as well, that soon enough he would be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion as well. It was only a matter of time.

Seth placed the briefcase in his suitcase and zipped it up tightly before catching a cab back to his hotel. Normally he would ride with one or two other superstars, or even on the rare occasion that Paige agreed to take him, but he wanted to be alone.

That is, until he could go to Paige's room and talk. Talk, meaning not talking. Confusing to others, but not to him. He just wanted to see her, and nobody else.

He carried his bag up to the third floor and followed the directions the raven-haired woman had given him earlier that day.

_"Go to your left when you get off the elevator and then turn left around the corner. Go all the way down that hall, take a right, and my room is the first one on the left."_

So, that's what he did. Twisted and turned with his bags on his back until he reached his destination and knocked on the door. He wasted little time as the door swung open and he cupped the brunette's face, planting a celebratory kiss upon her lips.

"Hold on," she said with a chuckle, having to shove him off of her. She reached behind him and closed the door before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and locking her fingers together behind his head. "I'm proud of you."

"I did good, didn't I?" He smirked, pressing his lips on hers yet again.

Smiling through the lip-lock, Paige nodded slightly. "So good. I rushed here before the show was over so that I could get here before you."

"Why'd you do that?"

She pulled apart and raised a suggestive eyebrow. "To celebrate. I figured that whatever your men had in store for you wouldn't be nearly as exciting as what I've got."

"Sold," he muttered before swooping her up, feeling her legs wrap around his waist. "Where's Emma?"

"We got separate rooms."

He smiled even brighter, tossing her gently onto the bed and began to unbutton his shirt. "Even better."

* * *

Wiping her hair out of her face, Paige adjusted her butterfly emblazed title on her shoulder. She walked slowly to the gorilla position where she would take deep, calming breaths. Never in her twenty-one years on earth had she dreamed of getting inside of a WWE ring to cut a promo, but she'd done a lot of things she'd never expected to.

After all, once you're in an industry as unpredictable as the WWE, you learn to expect the unexpected.

She listened as her music hit and the crowd roared in response. She'd always adored the way the fans reacted to her entrances. They always seemed to be with her through every step she took, and they supported her regardless of her gimmick. Which had always been the WWE's 'Anti-Diva'.

Wrapping her pale fingers around the microphone, she grasped the piece of reality that was coming her way. She explained how she deserved to be the champion, which in all honesty was true. She was a fighting champion, proving herself worthy of the belt on numerous occasions against numerous opponents. Each time delivering to the best of her ability what was a great match. And after the previous night where she'd successfully defended her title against a ferocious Naomi Knight, she knew that she deserved this reign more than ever before.

But that's when that dreaded sound echoed throughout the arena.

_Let's light it up!_

AJ's hiatus came as barely a surprise to her. She'd told the company that she needed some time off to heal, and ultimately marry a missing CM Punk. And time off she took, spending nearly four months off the grid, enjoying herself.

But now she's back. Like a spit ball of fire, wanting revenge.

And revenge she got.

_"This is my house now!" _Paige would shout, grabbing the brunette by the hair and pounding her yet again.

But then there was the slap. The slap heard around the world. It caused her to stumble back, giving AJ just enough time to grab her from behind and take advantage of the situation, pinning her for the whole three count.

_"The winner of this match, and new Divas Champion...AJ!"_

Suddenly, everything that people had said about her became true. Perhaps she was just a flash in the pan. Perhaps she was going to be just a one-hit-wonder. Perhaps everything that went so wonderfully for her was going to end the same way it began.

Abruptly.

Once it was all said and done, and she'd gotten enough embarrassing tears shed, she sprinted to the back where she dodged cameras and interviewers like they were bullets. She just wanted to be alone. She wanted to be alone so she could forget that she ever won that title. Forget that she ever made it to the big screens. Forget that she was ever important to anybody.

Because like she had always known, important things are only important because they won't last forever.

Wiping the tears from her face, Paige looked up at the mirror in front of her. She shook her head before covering her face with her tired hands. She felt worthless and pathetic. She felt like she never deserved that reign to begin with.

"Paige?"

Looking up, she saw Seth through the mirror in front of her. "I don't want to talk, Seth."

He nodded. "I get that. But could you hear me out for a second?"

She grabbed a jacket from the chair next to her and covered her legs, which were cold from the cool air that surrounded her. "You have five minutes."

He bit his lip and walked closer to her, kneeling down next to her. "I saw what happened out there," he began, "and I want you to know that even though it looks bad, your career isn't over."

"Please don't try and make this better for me." She shook her head and wiped away more tears. "That title was the only thing I had going for me. Without it, I'm exactly what everybody thought I was. A flash in the pan."

"No, you aren't. You have so much left to do."

She stood up and threw the jacket on the floor. "You don't get it! You could have anything you want in this company because you have Paul and Stephanie wrapped around your finger. But, not me. All I have is what could have been."

"You have me," he muttered, stepping close to her. "I'll always be there for you."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, crossing her arms.

_I can't believe I'm doing this..._ Seth raked a hand through his hair and sighed, looking up at her. He could see the smear of makeup that was drying under her eyes, and he wanted to make everything alright for her. But he couldn't.

"I'm not going anywhere, Paige. It doesn't matter what you're going through, I'm going to be there for you." He smiled slightly as he spoke, but she didn't.

She tightened the grasp on her arms as they were still crossed. "What are you saying?"

He sighed again, this time out of nerves. He was going to say it. For Dean and Emma. For himself. For Paige. He was going to get it all out there, in the open. Where it couldn't be touched or disturbed again. Because once it was out there, there is no going back.

"I love you," he said quietly.

Her breathing seemed to stop and she stood still. She felt absolutely nothing inside of her body, as everything stopped working as soon as he said those three words. As much as she wanted to be with him, hearing him confess such a thing was unexplainably painful. She felt burdened by him, rather than feeling happy.

"Seth," she mumbled, feeling her head spinning on her neck. "You don't mean that."

"Why does everybody keep saying that? First Dean, and now you." He shook his head and laughed, trying to ease the mood. "Paige, I do. I do love you."

"Stop," she begged, shaking her head. "Please don't say that. You have no idea what that means."

"What, loving someone? Paige, we've been together for-"

"We aren't together."

She'd interrupted so quickly, that Seth forgot why he even came. He no longer felt the need to explain himself to her. He just wanted to disappear and pretend that this moment never occurred. That he'd never confessed to something so painfully obvious that it mainly hurt because she hadn't said it back. His heart had been battling with his mind for so long that all he felt was chaos.

Nodding his head, he jerked his hand through his hair and looked at the door. "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"Seth," she spoke up, but he began to walk to the door. "Seth!" she called to him, but he opened the door and slammed it behind him, causing her to jump.

That's when she really allowed herself to break down. She'd lost her closest friend to a stupid rivalry that meant nothing to her anymore. She'd lost her title to a woman who basically left her as a placeholder while she went to marry a semi-retired wrestler. And now she'd lost the man who she cared about more than anything in this world. More than wrestling. More than the title that she used to carry with pride.

She was just alone. With nothing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Seth had never realized how strong his feelings for Paige were until she stomped on any chance to match them.

For the longest time, he'd tried to stray away from developing a connection with the raven-haired Diva, but things changed. She turned out to be more than a one-night-stand. She became the light at the end of the tunnel, and the answer to all of his questions.

There goes his only shot at refraining from using clichés to describe his relationship.

If him sleeping with Paige 'casually' could even be labeled as a relationship.

To be honest, he had spent the last few days reflecting on what he'd said and done, but to no avail, nothing made sense. How could she just turn him away like that? After the time they'd spent together, and the things that they'd done together, he'd just pictured them being together for forever. Sure, they'd dated other people and taken time away from one another, but they'd always turned right around and picked up where they'd left off.

But not this time. Something told him that this time was different. That something wasn't right between them anymore.

Perhaps this time there would be no 'to be continued'. Maybe this is where they insert 'the end'.

"Hey," a groggy Dean mumbled as he dropped his bag on the floor. "Why the sad eyes?"

Looking up from his phone, Seth tried his best to shake off the sadness that reflected in his eyes. "It's nothing. Just tired is all."

"Good. Did you hear about Emma?" He let out a soft, tired laugh. "She got arrested," he said before cracking himself up again. "She was released and then reinstated within like...an hour."

"How is that funny?" Seth choked up, putting his phone away in his pocket.

Dean shook his head. He hadn't expected him to blow up at a random set of comments. "I don't know. I guess, it's just the fact that she tries so hard to be a good girl and next thing you know she's getting sentenced for community service."

"Well, if we're done talking about irrelevant topics, I have a promo to practice for." He stood up and picked his bag up from the chair that it rested in before taking a leap for the door, only to have Dean stop him in his track.

"You aren't leaving until you tell me what the hell your problem is," he demanded.

Seth pushed his friend's arm away from him. "I don't need your help."

"I didn't say I'd offer my help," he joked. "But whatever your deal is, I have a feeling it's going to effect your work tonight on the show."

"It's not going to mess me up."

Dean leaned in, staring him dead in the eyes. "It already has."

* * *

"I just don't get any of it," Paige ranted on. She occasionally brought her hands to her forehead or raked one through her hair. After everything that happened after she lost her title, she was still on edge. She was expected to tag with AJ and act "sweet" and "innocent" around her as if she wasn't damaged by the events of the week.

But most of all, she was expected to feel nothing after watching Seth walk out of her life. And feeling nothing for the man that expressed his love to her was more than difficult. It felt downright impossible.

Emma looked at the raven-haired beauty and shook her head. "I wish I could help you," she began, "but I have other things to worry about."

"All I'm saying is that it makes no sense!" she exclaimed, walking toward her friend. "He agreed to being friends."

"Friends with benefits."

Paige scoffed at the idea. She hated that labeling; more than any of the other ones. She could handle having _no strings attached. _She could handle being _casual_. But she couldn't stand the thought of being _friends with benefits_. It was embarrassing to her. She felt that there was a thick line between friends and sex that should never be crossed or forgotten.

Therefore, Seth was not her friend. And she was not his. She wasn't exactly sure what that made them, but she knew what she knew and that was all.

After a moment of shaking off the anger that she felt toward Emma's comment, Paige sighed. "So, when do you start that online course?"

"You mean my punishment?"

She answered with a nod.

"Well," she sighed and pulled her laptop out of her bag, "I can begin as soon as I get the green light."

"Green light?" She shook her head and collapsed on the couch across from Emma's seat. "I'm so done with all this. I mean, first you get arrested and then I lose my championship." Rolling her shoulders back and staring up at the ceiling, Paige took a deep breath. "I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss NXT."

Emma raised her eyebrows in shock. "You're serious?"

"Do I sound like I'm not?"

She slid her laptop onto the coffee table in front of her and sat up straighter. "You can't say stuff like that. Just put yourself back where you were a year ago...you would've hated it if one of the girls on the main roster said something like that."

"But I'm not just one of the girls on the main roster, Emma. Neither of us are. We came here to make a difference, and sure we got a chance to make history, but look at us right now." She hadn't realized that she was subconsciously using her hands to describe her situation whilst talking, so she slowly brought them back down to her stomach. "We're useless."

Expecting her to retort in some angry fashion, Paige was taken back by her friend as she laughed hysterically.

"What's that for?"

Emma shook her head. "You defended your title successfully a dozen times, and you have one bad match and suddenly you're useless? Do you realize how many people would _kill _to be in your place? You're a former Divas Champion. NXT Women's Champion." She let out another laugh. "If you think that you're useless, then you're more than just wrong."

"Please don't try and make me feel better about any of this. You have no idea what I'm going through."

"I haven't even won the title yet, Paige. If either one us is pathetic, then nine times out of ten it's me."

Paige sighed and sat up, resting her head on the back cushion of the couch. "But you still have a chance to prove that you aren't a fluke."

"Paige," Emma scorned. "You aren't a _fluke_. And anybody who thinks otherwise is mentally insane."

Smiling at the comforting comment, Paige let out a sigh of relief. Then she debated whether or not to punch herself in the face for sighing so much. She stood up from the couch and ruffled a hand through Emma's hand before grabbing her jacket and opening the front door to leave. Just as she was about to leave she bumped into a hard chest. As she looked up, she immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

"What in bloody hell are you doing here?" she asked through a muffle; she didn't remove her hand from her face.

Dean smiled down at the brunette. "It's really good to see you two, little crumpet. But I'm here to see the misfit over there." He pointed at Emma, who was rolling her eyes and covering her face with her laptop. He wouldn't lie - Emma's arrest was...hot...to him. It made her seem much harder to get, and much more valuable to keep.

"I had a feeling," Paige admitted. She grabbed the collar of his shirt, bringing him toward her. "You impregnate her and I will cut off your balls," she said in a hushed whisper. She smiled wickedly before brushing past him, leaving him gulping with sweat forming over his brow.

"Your friend is really wound up tight," he said, lightly pressing his hand against his chest. Dean closed the door behind him and walked toward the blonde. "Tell me that she isn't always like that."

"Wish I could," she muttered. Expecting him to take the hint and leave, she was angered to find that he was making himself comfortable on the couch that Paige once sat. "Can I help you with something?" she asked, once again sliding her laptop onto the coffee table.

He shrugged. "You didn't call."

She leaned over, resting the weight of her hands on her arms. "Did you expect me to?"

"You said that you would."

"When did I say that?"

"Before you left. I asked if I'd see you again and you said you'd call."

Emma took her turn to shrug. "Did I call?" He squinted at her in response. "See? You should have taken it as _I __don't want to see you_." She finished with a smile.

Standing up, Dean tilted his head to the side in what appeared to be an alternate to a shrug. "Have it your way, doll face."

Normally, Emma wouldn't take him calling her a cutesy name like 'doll face'. But after the arrest, and her earlier conversation with Paige, she wasn't feeling up to a fight. There was too much going on in her hectic life for her to keep up with that she was actually looking forward to the time off of travelling that the company was giving her.

Or, forcefully pushing at her.

Dean left without another word, exiting through the door that he entered and didn't return later. He didn't talk to Seth, or call Emma to complain about her attitude toward him. He didn't try and trick Paige into taking him back to the hotel so he could catch another glimpse of the blonde. He just didn't do anything.

He simply went back to his room and called it a night. Partially because he had nothing to do, but mainly because he knew he would dream about Emma. And if he couldn't have her in reality, he could always have her in his mind.

* * *

**Sorry for the semi-short chapter...I've been struggling with putting this chapter together for a while now, but I managed to do something with the small space left in my brain for writing. I hope that it suffices...?**

**Quick thanks to _Wolfgirl2013, JM242014, PunkShieldGirl, BigRedMachineUK, lauraxxx, flowersNfreaks, _and _Kenn Faith. Dawn _for reviewing the previous chapter! Your reviews all meant so much, and your feedback was extremely helpful.**

**I promise that future chapters will be better. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Enjoy!**

* * *

House shows were always Seth's favorite. Sure, he loved the big, expensive lights that towered over him through RAW, SmackDown, and even Main Event or Superstars. But house shows reminded him of the independent circuit for some reason. Perhaps it was the simplicity of it all, or even just the size of the crowds. But he always got a kick out of a good house show.

But tonight...tonight was a different story. He just wasn't performing his best. And while it left many brains to turn and wonder, he knew the reason why.

Paige. It was always Paige.

She was the only one who could effectively ruin his day without being a physical part of it. She could be mentioned by a commentator while he's watching the show backstage, and suddenly everything changes. His entire mood could go from content to disgruntled in seconds. She was that important to him.

But she _didn't care_.

She basically said it herself. They weren't together. They were _never _together. He didn't know what love is. Hell, she broke his heart without directly telling him that she didn't love him.

She messed him up. Badly.

Seth took a deep breath that filled his lungs with more than air; with fire. Then something snapped. The realization that she just...she just didn't feel the same way about him, and that fact wasn't going to change while he sat around and moped. So, he decided that he would do something about it.

Something that she probably wouldn't find acceptable.

* * *

She walked down the hallway alone, casually jerking her hand through her hair every few steps or so just to stay occupied. She really didn't know why she was headed toward his locker room, but she couldn't stop. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

Once she saw the slip of paper labeled "MEN'S LOCKER ROOM" she remembered that it wasn't going to be _just _Dean in there. There would probably be countless other men who would kill to have a woman like Emma waltz in while they were dressing. Or, in some cases, undressing.

It was an hour before the start of RAW, so Emma figured that if she could find Dean anywhere, it would be in the corner of the locker room pretending that he wasn't surrounded by his coworkers. While they didn't know each other all too well, she knew that he wasn't the biggest fan of large swarms of half-naked men strutting their ripped bodies proudly. Especially when all he wanted to do was be inside of the ring, kicking their asses.

But, seeing them make fools of themselves was enough to motivate him to do so.

_Should I knock? No. He wouldn't answer, someone else would. I'll just walk in. No...that would be weird. I'll just wait. And then he'll walk right past me and blow me off, good thinking you idiot._

Emma's thoughts raced through her troubled mind as she stood in front of the entry door. Before she could have the chance to decide, the door swung open.

"Emma..." A very confused, and half-naked, Dolph Ziggler greeted. "Can I help you with something?"

"Uh, well, I -"

"Emma, Emma, Emma," Dean repeated as he walked up, brushing past the bleached blonde. "I'd like to say that I was expecting you, but this time it wouldn't be the truth."

He nodded at Dolph who scratched the back of his neck and walked past Emma to make his way down the hall. Dean cleared his throat and smiled brightly at the woman in front of him.

"Something I can do for you, doll face?"

She opened her mouth to respond before he called her that name again. "Seriously," she groaned, "you _have _to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" he asked, pretending to be dumbfounded.

"_That._" She raised and dropped her hands, gesturing at him. "You're constantly making me feel...weird."

He chuckled and skimmed his thumb across his bottom lip. "That's my job, babe."

"I'm not your babe."

"Whatever you say, sweets."

"STOP," she yelled. Remembering that there were people behind them in the room, she lowered her voice. "You know, I don't even remember why I came here in the first place. So, I'm just going to go."

She turned to walk, but he wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her back. They were standing inches from each other's face, but he kept pressure on her arm so that she couldn't get any farther or closer.

He was in complete control, and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.

"Don't go," he muttered. "The fun is just beginning."

Within seconds of his comment, a blast of pyrotechnics sounded in the background. The crew was testing them for the show, and she knew that, but it still scared the heck out of her. He acted like he ran things around here, and it was as if he were trying to prove himself. Fireworks following his declaration that the fun was only beginning sent chills down her spine, even though she knew for a fact that he had nothing to do with it. It just freaked her out.

Then again, everything he did freaked her out. From the dumbest and silliest things to the most serious and important things, it was all so different to her. He was always on her mind and for the life of her she didn't understand why. They'd only been together a handful of times, and it all began because she was going mental with everything that was happening with Paige and Seth. So the idea that she was _falling _for him was beyond scary to her. From feelings of payback and vengeance to feelings of love and nurturing; it was actually concerning to her.

"I have to," she whispered. "I'm not even supposed to be here."

"Then why don't we get out of here?" He continued to look at her with urge.

His tone was all too demanding - it usually was. "Goodbye, Dean." She pulled her arm away slowly, bringing it back down to her side. Sending him a quick smile, she pulled herself together and turned to walk away. She wasn't sure how long she would be gone, and she wasn't even sure if she would be allowed to visit.

The only thing she really knew was that as long as she had Dean waiting for her when she got back, it wouldn't be too long.

* * *

It wasn't planned. But from the look on Dean's face when he saw his...friend...that was visible.

"The hell, man?" Dean practically yelled, storming into the locker room. "Just because you're the bosses' poster boy doesn't mean you can screw over the people who have been there from the beginning!"

Clenching his jaw, Seth stood and clasped his hands together. "If you have a problem with the way we've been handling things around here, then I'd go file a complaint with human resources or something because I don't have the time for it."

"Human resources?" He chuckled. "Exactly, man. You _are _their human resource. They're just using you to get over on all the people who have the power to take them down."

"They don't have a reason to be taken down."

Dean shook his head and breathed heavily through his nose. "You're so brainwashed by those sons-of-bitches."

"It's all a part of the plan."

"I can see how giving me a kick-ass beating before our match tonight could help you with your ego, but what the hell were you thinking? It could have been _anybody _else. Roman...Cena - the _champ_. But you had to pick the one guy who forgave you for what you did."

"Forgive me? You chose to do this storyline with me from the beginning, remember?" He got in his face, pressing his pointed finger at him dramatically. "You had every chance to back out, but you chose to stick it out."

It was Dean's turn to clench his jaw, but not out of anger, out of disgust. "And how does your little girlfriend feel about your ass-kissing?"

"First off," Seth snapped, "I'm not kissing anybody's ass. If anything, they're kissing mine. And Paige isn't my girlfriend - never was, never will be."

Faking a pout, the dirty-blonde tilted his head to the side. "You mean poor Seth couldn't capture the Brit's heart?" He shook his head. "Not my problem. And frankly, if you want to get revenge on anybody, start with her. _I _am not the one who stabbed _you _in the back."

"I explained that," he spat.

"No," he retorted. "You said that you had your reasons, and I think that maybe the power and the money has gotten to your head or something because the Seth I know...the Seth that I chose to be friends with - mind you, I don't make friends easily - would never, _ever _turn his back on the people who helped him." He then let out a soft, sad chuckle. "But then again, you aren't the Seth that I met all those years ago. You're just another suit."

Seth released the pressure on his gritted teeth and watched as Dean turned around and left him. He knew that his beating on the beginning of RAW would be challenged with arguments about his loyalty and morals. And he knew that once Dean got released from the medical staff that he would turn back and confront him about it all. But, he wasn't prepared for him to walk away before getting an explanation.

Dean talked about the 'Seth he knew' as if he had become a completely new man. And, sure, he wasn't the same in every aspect. But he was still Seth Rollins, the architect of The Shield, even if The Shield was no more. He still had that achievement. He was still the same man under the _suit_.

But wearing that suit gave him a reason to continue without Paige. He took the opportunity because he thought that it would be impressive to talk about with the woman, but then she had to ruin everything. And now he had nothing to talk to her about. She was gone, and he was beginning to feel that there wasn't a way to bring her back.

* * *

She wiped her brow with a towel and smiled at the blonde who'd given it to her.

"Thanks," Paige spoke. "You know, Emma...I really am sorry for all that I've put your through."

Emma scrunched her face and wrinkled her nose. "Don't be." She then let out a small, childish laugh. "If anybody should be sorry for anything, it's Seth."

Paige groaned slightly. "Please don't mention him."

"Sorry," she responded quietly. "But, not for what I said. He should be the one who comes to you and apologizes for all that's happened."

The former Divas Champion stood up and changed out of her ring attire into something more comfortable quickly. Tossing her gear into her backpack, she rolled her shoulders back and sighed. "So, you're really not going to be around here?"

She tilted her head to the side and shrugged. "Not my orders."

"That seriously sucks," Paige complained. "First they take my title and now they're taking my best friend?"

Emma was taken aback. "I'm your best friend, now?"

Smiling, Paige responded by bringing the blonde into a tight hug. "You were always my best friend, you idiot."

"Good," she commented, pulling away. "Because nothing is more embarrassing than admitting something like that to someone and not having that person feel the same way."

Like how a car smashes into a brick wall - fast and furious - it hit her. She realized what she really had done to Seth when she chased him away. She hadn't just pushed him away, she drove him down a path of despair and she did it blindfolded.

Everything that he had done to Dean tonight was done with so much anger...it had to have been because of her.

"Well," Emma spoke up, breaking into Paige's thoughts. "If I don't catch my flight back to my apartment than I'll probably never get past the swarm of people who want to know what's happening with me."

Paige nodded, breathing heavily. "Of course." Patting her friend's shoulder, the woman forced herself to smile. "Don't be away too long."

"I'm sure it'll only be for a few weeks. After all, I couldn't stay away from my mates for forever."

Emma brought herself to finally pick up her bags and walk out of the locker room. She'd gone there that night in support of her friend, and was leaving for a certain amount of time that she wasn't aware of. Really, that nobody was aware of. It wasn't in her hands.

Her bags were nearly dragging across the ground as she walked through the now-empty hallways of the arena. She hadn't come to the full realization of how serious this all was. She was being forced to stay away from any and all WWE events until she finished her punishment for a crime that was all part of a big misunderstanding. And the worst part of it all was that she didn't even get a chance to finish a full list of goodbyes.

But, that list of goodbyes got a little shorter when a certain hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her into a secluded room.

"Dean?" Emma asked, confused, as she stood under a dim light. "I told you that I'm not supposed to be here."

"And, I think that you've got room for one more rule-breaking." He looked at her with so much passion that it frightened her for what felt like the hundredth time that night. "I've had...let's just say that I've had one screwed up day. And the fact that I won't be seeing you for who knows how long; it's killing me."

Emma couldn't breathe. She was so confused by what was going on. The last time she checked, she was completely head-over-heels for the man, but they weren't in a relationship. They were just messing around.

"Dean," she whispered. But before she could say anything more, he grabbed her by the hips and brought her close to him, wrapping his lips around hers. After a moment of shock and confusion, she dropped her bags and brought her hands up to his face, placing her arms on either side of his head.

Engulfed and consumed, it only broke her heart more.

* * *

**Long in comparison to my previous updates, but I'll admit that I'm proud of the way this chapter turned out. I focused more on Seth, Dean, and Emma because I felt like I was constantly writing about Paige...It took me about a week, and then I spent all of RAW working on it, but I got it done.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I'm totally serious when I say that your support and feedback means so much to me. If anything, it keeps me motivated to continue writing, which is huge because I get so much writer's block. But, you all help keep me going, so THANK YOU! :)**

**I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for the next chapter. :)**


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